Airplane Passenger Smuggles Monkey Under His Hat Into U.S.

[KelliH]

NEW YORK — A man smuggled a monkey onto an airplane Tuesday, stashing the furry fist-size primate under his hat until passengers spotted it perched on his ponytail, an airline official said.

The monkey escapade began in Lima, Peru, late Monday, when the man boarded a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Alison Russell. After landing Tuesday morning, the man waited several hours before catching a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport.

During the flight, people around the man noticed that the marmoset, which normally lives in forests and eats fruit and insects, had emerged from underneath his hat, Russell said.

"Other passengers asked the man if he knew he had a monkey on him," she said.

The monkey spent the remainder of the flight in the man's seat and behaved well, said Russell, who didn't know how it skirted customs and security.

Airport police were waiting for the man and his monkey when the plane landed about 3 p.m., and the man was taken away for questioning. It was unclear if he would face any criminal charges.

The city's animal control agency said the monkey appeared healthy. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was planning to take it for disease testing and keep it quarantined for 31 days, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

If the monkey is healthy it could wind up in a zoo.

Russell, the airline spokeswoman, said she didn't know the monkey's name, but she quickly thought of one.

"It is kind of a spirited monkey," she said. "That will be the nickname of the monkey: Spirit."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292496,00.html

 

[OSUgecko]

I think it's hilarious (and kind of scary!) that our customs officials are dense enough to let a monkey through an airport. Hmmm... maybe terrorists should all start carrying MONKEYS!! Oops, that comment was probably a national security threat, they'll be coming for me now! :shifty: :main_rolleyes:

Does anyone else find it ironically funny that we aren't allowed to bring more than 3 oz of liquid in our carryons anymore? Who said that terrorists must bring at least 3 or more oz of explosives to be dangerous? There's quite a few explosives that wouldn't require more than 3 oz to cause serious damage to a plane or to passengers.

 

[SteveB]

That's okay Alicia, if you fly anywhere else in the world you won't be bringing any liquids on board...

You won't be bringing down a plane or breaching the cockpit with those 3oz containers of liquid, I'll tell you that much.

 

[OSUgecko]

You won't be bringing down a plane or breaching the cockpit with those 3oz containers of liquid, I'll tell you that much.

You're probably right, even though you can take as many of those as you can fit in a clear plastic ziploc (which they don't really check)... but you COULD cause a lot of havoc and probably kill a few people at least.

Personally I just think that a lot of the airport security in use now borders on the ridiculous, and I don't really think it has made us a whole lot safer. All it takes is for someone to get imaginative, like putting a monkey under their hat... and the system will completely miss them.

 

[StinaKSU]

you know steve works for the TSA (airport security).......

 

[John N]

That gives me some ideas... For the Vietnam trip next year lol

 

[OSUgecko]

Nope, didn't know that. Sorry, Steve, not trying to offend you...

 

[StinaKSU]

I figured you didn't know...lol He's good at what he does, and he's regularly quizzed and tested....and he's nice

As far as the liquids thing...its as many 3 oz. containers as you can fit in a 1 qt. ziplock...which isn't much, they DO check (though some are more strict than others...*speaking from experience and what steve's told me*), and that much probably wouldn't be enough to kill anyone...injure, sure, but not likely kill and surely not enough to bring down a plane...thus making it a pretty pointless effort to bring that amount of explosives onto a plane...not that it would be good...lol But for a terrorist I can't imagine that would be a worthwhile effort. We do have more lax flying rules than most other countries and unfortunately there is no way to make everyone happy....people will always be mad that they can't bring certain things on. And unfortunately the TSA security officers at many airports are NOT treated well and aren't paid enough for what they do.

Also, there are some airports that don't use TSA (they use private companies), and while TSA employees can transfer to work with customs and border protections, I don't think they are the same group of people (though both groups are part of the Department of Homeland Security).

 

[OSUgecko]

OK, gotcha. I recently had a rather lousy experience with airport security, so the idea of a monkey making it through both tickled my funny bone and annoyed me again. I'm sure I don't know the half of what goes on there... Steve probably has LOTS of stories!... and I'm sure that there are plenty of people like Steve at other airports that are extraordinarily good at what they do. The people I saw at the airport last month just didn't need to be working that job, lol.

 

[SteveB]

No offense taken. I actually am detailed to a highly mobile unit that travels to understaffed and high volume airports as well as special security events such as political conventions and the super bowl. We also are involved in emergency response surges.

So believe me I've seen my share of good and bad on both sides of the screening process. Many of the places I travel to the officers are not paid a living wage and I often feel we are treated with less respect and decency than the janitors.

I'm sorry you had a lousy experience, if ever you have a question or concern feel free to drop me a line and I'll do my best to offer insight.

 

[OSUgecko]

Thanks, I'll do that!