WAR: Butane lighters banned from airliners

Butane lighters have joined the list of banned items on commercial airline flights. The ban was part of the revised intelligence reform bill that the congress sent to President Bush. The ban does not apply to checked luggage. Matches are still allowed on the flights, and the ban will take effect 60 days after the president signs the bill.



The lighters seem pretty innocuous, but so did box cutters before 911. The FBI is quick to point out that the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, would have been able to detonate his bomb had he brought one with him. The reality is that the porous nature of airport security will allow far worse on board, but this ban will have a further benefit. One less way for those determined to smoke to do so on board.

Butane lighters could be used as a disruption and are potentially dangerous. They don't exactly explode but you can get a fairly big momentary flame out of one. Igniting the plastic body could give you a 6' or larger flame when the lighter bursts.

Not to mention the fact that you could inflate a bag with the butane form the lighter......Ever cup your hand on top of a table and fill that space up with butane, then light it?

You know you're a redneck if....lol

[edit on 12/10/2004 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

``

it sure took 'em long enough.

those cheepie lighters, like 5 for 1$, i've had several
BlowUp....
it could have been because i was in Phoenix and the
butane lighters were in my service van, with the sun & all?!!

I think I have a solution to this whole flight safety thing. Make all passengers check all their baggage and their clothing before boarding. Naked passengers would either be too embarrassed to get out of their seats unnecessarily, especially Muslims and maybe Christians, or they would be preoccupied with one another, instead of concentrating on destructive deeds.

[edit on 04/12/10 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
I think I have a solution to this whole flight safety thing. Make all passengers check all their baggage and their clothing before boarding. Naked passengers would either be too embarrassed to get out of their seats unnecessarily, especially Muslims and maybe Christians, or they would be preoccupied with one another, instead of concentrating on destructive deeds.

There are already nude flights to some hedonistic resorts, so this must work at some level.

Seriously, there was a device proposed in the 70s where a metallic piece was chained to one's wrist and palm, and while you'd be able to drink coffee and read a newspaper, you'd hardly be able to use any weapon. It didn't fly, of course, looks like shackles and all.

The lighter ban makes sense.

You can't smoke on planes.

What the hell would you need a lighter or matches for? Stow them on checked bags. If you need a light between flights, I can't imagine it's that hard, and most bars in the airports would have matches.

Why the heck aren't matches banned too???

Did you know that matches will likely set off many of the new "puffer" machines in security?

Originally posted by Gazrok
You can't smoke on planes.
Did you know that matches will likely set off many of the new "puffer" machines in security?

Maybe, but I think its tuned to the specific molecular emissions of explosives and no doubt they can tune it to ignore mathces.

And Grady, the only im sitting next to you naked, is if the terrorist already has a gun to my head

The ban goes into effect today:

WASHINGTON - Starting Thursday, there is one more thing that air travelers must leave at home: lighters. Unlike guns, knives and other dangerous items that a passenger cannot carry on in his pocket but may stow in checked bags, lighters are banned from anywhere on a plane.

"It's been 3 1/2 years since 9/11 and they've finally figured it out," said Mark Peterson, a Sioux Falls, S.D., appraiser who was grabbing a smoke outside Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday.

The rule change is expected to produce a large number of seizures of lighters even though airports, airlines and the government have been telling travelers for the past 45 days about the impending ban.
Banned

I heard on the news this morning that this would apply to checked bags as well. Guess I heard wrong. I suppose the don't wan't people carrying anything that could be used against anyone on the plane. Although I suppose you could start a fire with matches just as easily.

Originally posted by Gazrok
You can't smoke on planes.

What the hell would you need a lighter or matches for? Stow them on checked bags. If you need a light between flights, I can't imagine it's that hard, and most bars in the airports would have matches.

Why the heck aren't matches banned too???

Did you know that matches will likely set off many of the new "puffer" machines in security?

I'll tell you why. This is no new threat -- tobacco companies have been fighting the ban of butane lighters for a few years now. I guess they finally lost the battle.

The reason tobacco companies want you to have butane lighters on planes, even though you can't smoke on a plane, is for a couple reasons related to smoking ease and accessibility -

1) Most large airports have lounges in which you can smoke cigarettes moments before you board your flight.

2) A smoker giving away his source of fire at a security checkpoint is subconsciously detrimental to the smoking mind.

3) When smokers are about to land, literally the number one thing they think about is the pack of smokes in their pocket and the quickest way they are going to get to a place where they can light up, and a butane lighter in the pocket adds a dimension of ease and familiarity to their ritual habit.

Take it from an ex-smoker. Matches are psychologically lesser than butane lighters, and tobacco companies know this. They are subconsciously forgotten about or viewed as a nuisance or hassle, and tobacco companies don't want you to associate anything negative with their products -- in fact, when you get off a plane and can light a cigarette within minutes, that is viewed as a *lifesaver* by a smoker, not a hassle.

Zip