Post your TSA experience here

[SandEagle]

I'm sure some of you will be flying in and out this holiday. Have you been groped or violated? Or did you have a positive experience passing security? Post your TSA stories here.

 

[Crusty]

None of the airports I'll be traveling through for x-mas have the back scatter machines installed yet...... hope it stays that way.

 

[rudeguy]

If I put a roll of quarters in my pocket, do you think I'll get a pat down?

 

[qliveur]

I dare someone to take a Viagra so they'll have a massive boner when the TSA thugs pat them down.

 

[coxmaster]

Im not flying for Thanksgiving.

Regardless, both airports I use are NON-TSA airports. In my experience the private security firms do MUCH better

 

[Zebo]

I flew to san deigo a few weeks ago. Just standard stuff like take off belt, shoes and they wanded me after metal detector went off due to keys in my pocket. Not been groped yet. I'll let you know after holiday. Flying to FL in Dec to jump on a ship to Mexico/central America.

 

[Moonbeam]

I generally only travel under heavily armed guard.

 

[sjwaste]

I'm flying next on Christmas Day, out of BWI. I'll post back, but I don't expect anything crazy. For one, the BWI Terminal A/B checkpoint uses the backscatter machines that show a stick figure. It's fast because they can view it on the monitor right there, and it's really not embarrassing. When they first put it in, I gave the TSA guy a hard time (in a joking way) about how they should pay to see my adonis-like body - most of them have a pretty good sense of humor about this stuff. Also, I am decidedly not someone they want to see naked. But in the middle of that exchange, he told me they only see stick figures anyway and that it's much faster.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Flying to visit my grandmother in Florida, flying alone.

They pulled me aside, frisked me, emptied my wallet (examined all cards). Searched through all of my baggage, thumbed through my book (On War by Clausewitz, probably did not help if they had read the notes I made), etc.

The personal search and interview took about 15 minutes, they asked me several questions about where I was going, what I was going to do when I got there, etc.

 

[sjwaste]

Flying to visit my grandmother in Florida, flying alone.

They pulled me aside, frisked me, emptied my wallet (examined all cards). Searched through all of my baggage, thumbed through my book (On War by Clausewitz, probably did not help if they had read the notes I made), etc.

The personal search and interview took about 15 minutes, they asked me several questions about where I was going, what I was going to do when I got there, etc.

Do you fit a particular profile? Otherwise, how were you selected for the search?

 

[Schadenfroh]

Do you fit a particular profile? Otherwise, how were you selected for the search?

White male in his early-mid twenties, flying alone, they pulled me from the line.

 

[purbeast0]

here you go.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=1734482

enjoy.

 

[sjwaste]

White male in his early-mid twenties, flying alone, they pulled me from the line.

Wow, well that's a shitty story.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Flew out of MSP a few weeks ago. I'm mid 20's, Indian, travelling alone, TSA agent looked at my DL, complemented me on what I was wearing and waved me through. Took about 30 seconds and no fuss at all.

 

[rudeguy]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2121846


Sorry to link but I posted that before I remembered about this thread.

 

[Riceninja]

none, because i dont live in a country ruled by fear

 

[Fingolfin269]

I've never really had a problem with the TSA and I've flown international a few times over the past year. Lucky I guess.

 

[AreaCode707]

No negative experiences with TSA here. I did recently fly two directions with a large full bottle of perfume in my purse though, accidentally. Got home and realized it was there and was surprised it didn't get flagged and thrown out. Glad they didn't though, it's kinda expensive. Does kinda make me think their bag checks aren't doing everything they're supposed to do though...

 

[foghorn67]

I now have a beard, my DL has me clean shaved. I get double takes and a long look, but nothing out of the ordinary yet.

A couple of years ago, I put a jar of salsa that I got from Texas in my carry on. That got me pulled aside. They opened the jar and took a sample to test for residue. I think they let it pass because the agent is familiar with that brand he and his wife buy it several times a year.

 

[thescreensavers]

I know how to empty my pockets, i walked through the metal detector and thats it. they did scan my bag 2 times though, dont know why.

 

[lozina]

I think some people are confusing the issue - there are your normal traditional airport security check points where you put your stuff through an x-ray machine on a conveyor belt while you step through a basic metal detector and get very mildly patted down if anything beeped.

Then there is the new TSA check point where you either walk through the naked machine or you get manhandled by thugs

Thankfully that new crap wasn't set up in JFK in the terminal I flew out of last time I travelled - on september 11th of this year to Europe.

 

[nick1985]

I had a pipe-bomb shoved up my ass. They didn't find that in the pat down

 

[GTaudiophile]

I fly around 30 times a year, both domestically and internationally, mostly for business. I just got back from Denver last week. While I do try to avoid the X-Ray machines, I can't complain about anything the TSA has done (or not done) to me.

Famous last words?

 

[BoomerD]

I had a pipe-bomb shoved up my ass. They didn't find that in the pat down

If it had gone off, it would have really blown your mind...


I've been pretty fortunate with my experiences. The WORST is right after they banned all forms of lighters on planes...they made me toss my zippo that I'd had for about 20 years. There was a small shop that would have shipped it to my house...but they weren't open yet and I didn't have time to wait for them. I suggested letting me remove the wick, wadding, and flint, and that didn't work either...
Then, right after I had my knee surgery, I was wearing a knee brace...THAT got me pulled aside and I was subjected to "intense scrutiny," not quite a full strip search, but I did have to remove my jeans and the knee brace so they could "test it for explosives." (with a wipe of some kind)
Once they were satisfied that it was just a knee brace, they let me go on my way. MAYBE a 10 minute delay.

 

[dquan97]

I had a pipe-bomb shoved up my ass. They didn't find that in the pat down

I thought my foot was the only thing in there