Retired pilot on government's No-Fly List

KUSA - Since Thursday night, 9Wants to Know has heard from dozens of people telling us they're on the government's No-Fly list, which makes it difficult for them to board airplanes.

We've heard from the young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick. But there's one person we figured could never be misidentified as a terrorist: the pilot of the plane. Then, we met Captain Robert Campbell.

Campbell was a pilot for the U.S. Navy during Vietnam and was a commercial airline pilot for 22 years before his recent retirement.

Since 2005, he says he's been flagged as a terrorist on the No-Fly List. He can fly the plane, but he can't ride on it as a passenger without undergoing extra screening and getting cleared by airline agents.

"This is absurd," Campbell said. "Even the TSA knows it's absurd."

The Transportation Security Administration that oversees the No-Fly List sent Campbell through its "Expedited No-Fly List Clearance" program.

He filled out the paperwork and got a letter back from the TSA on Feb. 8, 2006 informing him that he'd been cleared off the watch list and shouldn't be misidentified again.

Campbell showed 9Wants to Know the letters. He says he's still being delayed at the airport when he travels as a passenger.

"The fact is, I'm authorized by the TSA to fly the airplane and ride the jump seat on air carriers," he said. "But if I want to ride in the back, I'm on the No-Fly List."

He says trying to get his name cleared is the most frustrating experience that he's ever run across.

"I've talked to everybody under the sun, my Congressmen, my union, union legal people, the airlines, my chief pilot and nobody seems to be able to get me off the No-Fly List, " Campbell said.

The pilot says that doesn't say much about the effectiveness of the terrorist watch list.

"It's a lot of show and glitz and stuff but it's not really effective," Campbell said. "Their effectiveness is highly questionable."

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