Sorry about the off topic, but after returning from a lovely vacation in the states, I took the opportunity to stock up on some car parts.

I did my homework. Shocks are allowed: http://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/cib_results.aspx?src=tsawebsite

I even had the invoice and the instructions in my suitcase.

Still, upon arrival I found a generic note saying that hazardous materials had been removed.

Can I get them back?

M

 

I would file a claim, if the shocks are allowed then this would be theft, and that is how I would try to get them back (or at least be reimbursed).

Good luck, that really sucks!

Cheers!
Carl

 

I agree with Carl. File a claim.

General rule is: if you don't want TSA to steal it, carry it on.

Customer of mine went through screening with an RMB.

 

Unless you had empty air shocks, I think you're out of luck.

 

I read the part about gas cylinders. But I pictured that as a separate cylinder, like the Öhlins have.

The first sentence states that shocks in general are allowed.

I'll email them all the info tomorrow.

M

 

Bummer Magne, glad you are home safe though.

I'd like to think that the low pressure gas shocks you put into checked baggage are OK but perhaps the high pressure gas shocks and struts are not OK. Saab 9000 rears, for example, lift the back end of the car a fair bit when they have the correct gas pressure in them. Low pressure shocks are probably 100 psi / 7 bar and the high pressure ones are 3-4x higher. Low pressure shocks are about the same pressure as a can of hair spray or similar.

Having shot 928 shocks with a rifle (to safely bleed off the pressure so I could cut them and remove the collars) I can say they are pressurized but not excessively so.

I personally would suggest to them your shocks were of the safe variety, ask for compensation, and hope you don't get the middle digit (and hopefully not shoved anywhere.)

Cheers,
-Joel.

P.S. I wonder if in these modern times the boxes are marked somehow?

 

I'm sorry, but this is shocking.

I'll get my coat ..

 

Shocks may be allowed by TSA but they are considered dangerous goods by IATA because of the gases contained under pressure. You could face a fine or worse for attempting to transport them in your luggage.

 

They took our coconut rum too. hate the tsa.

 

A few years ago a put my BlackBerry Cellphone in my checked bag. TSA stole it and I filled paperwork to try and get a reimbursement. It turns out they don't cover electronics. One time they opened my bag and left it open and on the rotating terminal my bag was open and underwear/etc was on the conveyor belt.

 

A source in the family who knows how TSA works tells me regardless off your soon to be files claim, you will not be reimbursed anytime soon. Seek legal advice ASAP.

Good Luck.

 

Hi all, so I had to do my homework here.

The TSA apparently was part of the transportation department until 2003, then they changed to the department of HLS. Currently, they have a whopping 43.000 employees. Imagine before 2001 the organization didn't exist. Now they are employing 43.000 people to take your shocks away...

I do suspect however that the shocks might be classified as dangerous goods from the transportation point of view. This is a general safety issues and what does it have to do with the department of HLS anyway?

It reminds me somehow of the way states are now using drivers licences to enforce all kinds of things that have nothing to do with driving. I get so mad when this come up that I want to vote out ALL encumbants in ANY general election.

 

From the TSA site:

What happens to your prohibited items?


When prohibited items come through the checkpoint, passengers are given options:

1) Take the item to the ticket counter and check it in your baggage or a box provided by the airport.
2) Many airports have a US Postal Service or other shipping services area where boxes, stamps and envelopes can be bought so you can ship your items home.
3) If there is somebody seeing you off, you can hand the prohibited item to them.
4) If your car is parked outside, you can take the item to your car.

If you’re not given these options, you should ask to speak with a supervisor or manager. You can also use the “Got Feedback?” program to contact TSA Customer Support at that specific airport. Lastly, you can file a claim.

We understand passengers aren’t always able to use these options due to the chance of missing flights, etc.

So, what happens to these items if passengers can’t use one of the options? Many folks are under the wrong impression that our officers get to keep the items. It just doesn’t happen. If somebody is caught pocketing the surrendered items, they are terminated. There is zero tolerance for theft at TSA. I know of somebody who was fired for stealing .69 cents.

So What Exactly Happens To All Of That Stuff? 5.05.2008
As every passenger and visitor to this blog probably knows, hundreds of thousands of items are identified each year by our security officers that are prohibited from being carried onto an aircraft. Of course, occasionally, items get through, but that’s a whole different post.

There are two classifications of items, prohibited and illegal. The prohibited category includes things like knives, scissors (larger than 4 inches), some tools, chain saws, swords, boulders, replica guns, bottled water, soda, toothpaste, hair gel, snow globes and on and on.

Illegal items are obviously guns, brass knuckles, switch blades. When discovered at the checkpoint, we contact law enforcement and they do what they need to do, maybe arrest, maybe a citation,…. it really depends on each jurisdiction.

We often refer to prohibited items internally as Voluntary Abandoned Property. Passengers call them confiscated…, either way; these items become possessions of the federal government, and are deemed excess government property.

While it may seem like we enjoy taking this stuff, the fact is passengers have choices. A passenger can go back to the airline and place the item in his/her checked bag. Some airports have mailing facilities or mail back programs so travelers can mail the item home. The item can be given to a loved one seeing you off at the airport or, if you drove yourself to the airport, you can go place the items in your car. Or for that matter, a passenger can go throw the items away in a nearby trash can. If they decide to do none of these and "surrender" the prohibited item to a security officer, they are considered excess government property.

Of interesting note, of all the items I have seen, most, almost all, could have made it from Point A to Point B, had the passenger simply taken the time to place it in a checked bag.

Depending on the size of the airport, each day, week or month, the items are picked up. Because the items are excess government property, we must follow General Services Administration guidelines for the disposition of the material. Many airports use a TSA-provided contractor who collects the “stuff” and disposes of it….. quite literally, throws it away. Or, as some airports do, we donate items to approved, non-profit organizations in accordance w/GSA regulations.

We have heard of local schools receiving the scissors. We have heard of local police departments training with the mace. Some VA hospitals sell some of the items to help make ends meet. Some non-profits, including several state surplus property divisions, sell the material on the auction web site eBay, and put the profits in THEIR coffers. TSA does not sell or profit in any way from the selling of this voluntarily abandoned property.

There have been references to this practice on this very blog, but the fact is, those news reports are plain wrong. Again, we are required to follow GSA guidelines for the disposition of this property and we do.

Thanks,

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

 

In the words of the crowd from Southpark, "Dey tooker shocks"

 

When I traveled home from OCIC in Texas, I had a HUGE box of car parts as checked baggage.

American Airlines didn't manage to get it onto the plane (there were issues with an icing storm that night, and I ended up on a different flight, just making my international connection).

My luggage arrived three days after I did, and had been opened by TSA, but everything was still in the box, including the shocks that I bought from Roger.