Commercial Pilot Sues DHS For Putting Him On "No-Fly" List

A commercial airline pilot is suing the Department of Homeland Security to have his name removed from the "no-fly" list claiming it has cost him his job with regional carrier Colgan Air. New Jersey native Erich Scherfen is not only a commercial pilot, but also a Gulf War combat veteran who claims, "My livelihood depends on being off this list." One reason Scherfen believes he is on the watch list intended to keep terrorists off flights is that he converted to Islam back in 1994. It's not just him either. His Pakistan-born wife is also on the list. Scherfen's lawyers have teamed up with the ACLU alleging the move by the TSA to put them on the list violates both of their civil rights. After flying for Colgan for a year, the airline suddenly placed him on a paid suspension because of the "positive match" and subsequently moved him to unpaid leave two weeks later. Although they are both Muslim, Scherfen asserts that both he and his wife have no ties to terrorism or even a criminal record. TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis claims "religious and political affiliation does not impact whether an individual is placed" on the list. Either way, Scherfen won't be able to make a living in his chosen profession until this is resolved which may take a while.

[TBO.com]
Thanks, Tom.

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Air Marshals' Names Tagged on "No Fly" List

This one makes no sense to me. According to the Washington Times, some federal air marshals have been denied boarding onto flights on which they were assigned to protect because their names matched those on the terrorist no-fly list! The Transportation Security Administration is not denying this and has said they are taking steps toward fixing this problem. The air marshals said that this problem has persisted for years.

One air marshal said he has been harassed for the last six years because his name matched a suspected terrorists name. This is ridiculous...the people who are hired by our government to protect the citizens are not being allowed to fly on their flights because their names happen to be the same as a suspected terrorist. Sweet job TSA.

In traditional reactionary form, a new directive has been issued that “mitigates any misidentification concerns by empowering airlines to quickly clear an air marshal’s status after positively identifying their law enforcement status.” Sounds like fancy mumbo jumbo that should have been understood and implemented back when the "no-fly" list was created.

The worst thing about it is that the Federal Air Marshal program is administered by the TSA.

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