Jaunted

Lame Graffiti?

I think this is a good opportunity for clarification.  The Flight Attendants do not clean the lavatories, but since 9/11, they are required to conduct security inspections of the aircraft passenger cabin -- and this includes the lavatories.  

Of all the places on an aircraft, the lavatories are the most dangerous, since they offer the most locations and compartments to hide contraband and weapons -- and out of the view of any other passengers and crew.  The flight attendant was doing her job, actually very thoroughly I might add.  

This is the same type of inspection Federal Air Marshals do on an aircraft (which I do regularly), except air marshals are only on a very few flights anymore.  Therefore, the flight attendants must now complete the same security inspection if there are no air marshals on the flight.

In regards to the graffiti, its not up to the public to rationalize or to legitimize its authenticity, but I believe it is the public's responsibility (and this includes airline crews), to report ANYTHING suspicious, and then let the experts in the FBI and in the Joint Terrorism Task Force interpret its meaning.

We will never win the War on Terror without the assistance of the general  public's eyes and ears to assist us in law enforcement.  Therefore, be watchful and proactive, and don't be afraid of reporting ANYTHING that your gut is telling you just isn't right, even at the risk of people calling you "paranoid".

Stay vigilant,

Federal Air Marshal
Los Angeles Field Office

Wait a minute...

If the security theater we're forced to endure at the airport is as effective as the feds say it is, shouldn't our planes already be safe? How would contraband enter the lavatories to begin with? There's only one explanation: because the security protocol is flawed. We've given you our shoes, our snow globes even our right to free speech--now we have to work security on board, too?

The ever-vigilant flight attendant that you praise didn't receive such complimentary treatment from other government officials. According to The Aviation Nation, the feds essentially brushed her off after she reported her findings. You can't have it both ways: encouraging people to tip the authorities while disregarding their tips as nutso.

It may not be up to the public to determine the validity of threats (or whether stories sourced to anonymous flight attendants are even true.) But that is the job of the TSA and DHS. It's the public's job to make sure they do it.

Way to go Charlotte Smith

Now, we will not be allowed to bring magic markers on the plane with us. Not that we ever brought them onboard with us before but we can see the TSA banning them in the interest of protecting airline toilets.

Magic Markers Join the Axis of Evil

Okay, well...someone needs to say it: "Chenault Lives Zatu" is flat-out hilarious. I can't even read it without laughing. Is that, like, the mating call of those Toy Story aliens?

Brainwashed?

Haha, someone writes on a toilet seat and you saw it as an opportunity to boast about your job! Yes stay vigilant, and catch that damn "terrorist"... Contact the FBI next time you see terrorist activity my fellow americans. Air marshals are a completely unnecessary asset to homeland "security" they are payed to look for "terrorists" on a plane man, has there ever been a situation in which a FAM has caught a "terrorist" no way. The only terrorists i know work for the U.S. Government. 1394