[pct-l] airline no flammable poicy

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

The vice president of the outdoor club I belong to just had an unpleasant 
encounter with lawyers from the FAA. Seems the strike anywhere matches he had 
in his pack side pocket ignited on the baggage carrier. He thought an apology 
and a promise never to do it again would suffice, but several weeks later he 
received a letter in the mail from the FAA fining him $27,500. Aghast, he 
hired a lawyer and plea bargained down to a $2750 fine (and, of course, at 
least that much in lawyer fees). Additionally, he was required to hand out 
baggage safety pamphlets to all club members and have the president of the 
club witness it.
  His speech to us was rather disappointing because instead of admitting to 
the danger he exposed that plane to (the matches COULD have ignited AFTER the 
plane took off), he had a somewhat flippant, they're -- 
making-an-example-of-poor-little-me- so-I-need-sympathy attitude. In 
response, the crowd cackled about the unpleasantness of airline red tape, 
while reading the FAA pamphlets.
    So if you plan to fly somewhere with camping gear, be aware. If they find 
that empty fuel bottle that still smells of gas, you could be in for a big 
hassle. Ditto for that used whisperlite and probably even alcohol.
  The solution? Probably a combination of the Post Office and the local 
sporting goods store in the place you are hiking. An empty fuel bottle and 
stove in the mail doesn't seem to be nearly as serious a matter. Fuel will 
most likely have to be obtained locally if you want to be legal. Anybody out 
there know if it's legal to mail unopened bottles of HEET alcohol in the 
mail? Coleman fuel is usually easy to obtain compared with alcohol, so it 
would be nice to be able to mail alcohol ahead without risk of a fine.