The No Fly List
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Are you on the No Fly or No Fly Watch list maintained by the US Department of Homeland Security? Now you can check if you are potentially on these lists by visiting nofly.s3.com and typing in your name. These lists are based on an algorithmic software known as Soundex developed in 1918(!) to analyze US census data. Soundex works by removing vowels from names and then assigning numerical values to the remaining consonants.
Note that this is not the actual No Fly list but an implementation of the alogrithm that the DHS uses and is based on the best known public data on terrorists. And the fine print at the site states:
The results generated in this demonstration are a product of a compilation of the best available data regarding suspected and known terrorists. Publicly available terrorist names from various reliable government and non-governmental sources were merged to create a comprehensive list. Because federal investigators are constantly adding and deleting the identities of terrorists on various lists provided to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) there is no simple method for the taxpayer to easily acquire immediate information regarding suspect names.
I am not on the list but John Smith (the most common name in the US) is.
[via The Huffington Post]
Yeah, I just found out recently that my name was on the no fly list.
More specifically, someone who has the same name as you is targeted on the no fly list and you’re a victim of that.
Yeah, someone with the same name - that’s the ticket!
Seriously, though, how did you find out? Did you search that site, or were you detained at an airport?
Yeah, I am also curious. I see that your name is indeed on the list from the site but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to fly. It might mean that you’ll be watched by Big Brother every time you fly. There is a way to get your name off the list but I don’t know what that entails. See here:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/customer/redress/index.shtm
You can also register for the Clear program which enables you to go on the fast track at the airport security of certain airports. The list of airports currently supporting this is small but will probably expand in the coming years.
The sordid tale was to be part of a great blog entry, alas it never happened. I’m trying to recall the exact moment that I found out something was amiss - was it when they asked me to spread my legs for the full body cavity search or was it when they actually started the procedure?
Thankfully, it was none of that. I got suspicious when for the second trip in a row I could neither perform an online check-in nor an electronic self check-in at the airport. Both times I had to go to the counter to speak to someone. It was only when I asked why I was having this problem that the person informed me of my happy inclusion in the no fly list. (They gave me a paper with the TSA redressal details, I haven’t followed up yet.) She said she wanted my birthdate to disambiguate me. That’s when I really panicked because I know for a fact (due to various problems acquiring a driver’s license at the RMV) that there is another person with my name and birthdate with unknown degrees of trouble with the law. For a few moments I really did imagine that body cavity search scenario, but happily the nightmare failed to play out.
If I were you, I would get going on getting your name off that list. If it really does take a while for the process to purge you from the list then the sooner you fill out the redressal details, the better.
Wa wa wee wah! How you get on this list? Is there application forms? How long is wait list? Is only terrorists allowed? Please to tell me all details.