I. PUBLIC LAW AND SPECIAL CIVIL AIR REGULATIONS

The following sections of the Federal Aviation Act apply to the carrying of weapons aboard aircraft and provide air carriers with the authority to refuse transportation of passengers or property which may endanger the safety of the flight.

A. Members shall be guided by Federal Aviation Regulation 121.585 which concerns the carrying of weapons aboard aircraft.

1. No person (law enforcement officer) may board a flight with a weapon “on or about his person or property” unless:

a. He needs to have it accessible to him to perform his duties between the time he checks in with the carrier and arrives inside his destination terminal.

b. The carrier has been notified at least one hour (or in an emergency, as soon as practicable) before the expected departure time of the flight to be boarded, and that the person intends to have a weapon accessible to him.

c. The carrier has been notified that the person needs to have the weapon accessible to him to perform his duties, during the time specified in a. above.

d. The carrier has informed its passenger-screening personnel and the law enforcement officer supporting the screening of the armed passenger’s presence and identity.

e. The carrier has informed the Captain of the flight, and other armed persons aboard the same flight, each of the presence of the other, and their location aboard the aircraft.

f. When the armed person is other than an employee or official of the United States Government, and he needs to have the weapon accessible to him in connection with the performance of his duty in the cabin compartment of an air carrier aircraft, he should provide a letter to the air carrier that specifies the circumstances that create the need to be armed during the flights being utilized. This letter should be in the letterhead of the jurisdiction employing the officer and signed by a supervisory official. Such letter should specify the trip itinerary and include a designated period during which the need to be armed in flight will exist, otherwise he must check it in accordance with paragraph I-B of this Section.

B. No air carrier may knowingly permit any passenger to carry, nor may any passenger carry, while aboard an aircraft being operated by that air carrier, in checked baggage, a deadly or dangerous weapon, unless the following conditions are met:

1. The passenger has notified the air carrier before checking the baggage that the weapon is in the baggage and that it is unloaded.

2. The baggage in which the weapon is carried is locked, and only the passenger checking in the baggage retains a key.

3. The baggage is carried in an area other than the flight crew compartment that is inaccessible to passengers.

II. FAA REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF PRISONERS

Members shall be guided by the following Federal Aviation Administration regulations and procedures when transporting prisoners aboard aircraft.

A. The air carrier is to be notified at least one hour, or in an emergency, as soon as practicable, before departure:

1. Of the identity of the escorted person and on which flight he will be carried.

2. Whether the escorted person is considered dangerous by the governmental entity having custody of him.

B. The escort has assured the air carrier that:

1. The escorted person does not have on or about his person or property any article that could be used as a deadly or dangerous weapon and would be accessible to him while aboard the aircraft; and

2. The escort is equipped with adequate restraining devices to be used in the event the escort determines that restraint is necessary.

C. The escorted person and his escort(s) shall be:

1. Boarded before all other enplaning passengers board, and deplaned after all other deplaning passengers have left the aircraft; and

2. Seated in the rearmost passenger seats that are neither located in any lounge area, nor located next to or directly across from any aircraft exit.

D. At least one escort shall sit between the escorted person and any aisle and at all times accompany the escorted person and keep him under surveillance.

E. The air carrier may not:

1. Carry more than one person who it has been notified is considered dangerous, and his escorts, on an aircraft carrying other passengers; or

2. Serve food or beverages, or provide metal eating utensils, to an escorted person unless authorized by the escort.

F. No person escorting a person or being escorted in accordance with this procedure (section) may drink any alcoholic beverage while aboard an aircraft.

G. Prior to the carriage of a prisoner on board an air carrier aircraft, law enforcement officer(s) and military police escort(s) should notify a responsible representative of the air carrier, i.e., the duty supervisor in charge of the passenger counter or the duty supervisor in charge of passenger service in the case of larger stations, or the station manager or acting station manager in the case of a smaller station.

H. Airlines may not accept prisoners for interline transportation unless concurrence has been obtained in advance from the other airline(s) involved. The booking airline should include in its booking message the name and identification of the prisoner and the escorting officer(s).

I. An airline may refuse to accept a prisoner at any time if in the judgment of a responsible representative of the airline such acceptance might jeopardize the safety of other passengers.

J. Escorting officer(s) must not carry mace, tear gas, or similar devices aboard aircraft.

GUY A. PAUL
CHIEF OF POLICE