Sunday, January 21, 2018

5 Dreadfully Scandalous TSA Horror Stories

By Christopher West


Without a doubt, air travel can be nightmare at times. Airport terminals are often filled with massive crowds looking to catch their flights, with movement becoming difficult at times. However, one of the most annoying things for many passengers is going through the mandatory security pat down. Here are a few of the most disgraceful TSA horror stories ever told.

In February 2012, a lady had to miss her flight due to the appalling reason that there was no agent of the same gender available to conduct a body check on her. The victim, Jennifer Winning, had this experience when traveling from Wyoming to Colorado at the Sweetwater County Airport. The airport authorities declined to let the lady board the plane without being patted down by a female officer, who astonishingly was not present at the time.

She ended up watching her male counterparts get patted down before the flight took off. When she later inquired if her experience would have been different had she been a man, the security agents replied with a resounding yes. The story became a hot topic for the media. It has since ruled internet chat boards and websites.

As if this was not enough, a more damning incident had happened four years earlier, in May 2008. A female passenger claimed to have had her breasts exposed during a body search at the Corpus Christi International Airport. She ended up suing the federal government after claiming a TSA agent pulled her blouse down, exposing her breasts for all and sundry.

What makes this a truly shocking occurrence is that the officers present allegedly laughed while it all transpired. Her suit alleged untold humiliation and embarrassment. She eventually got awarded an unreported amount of cash as part of a settlement.

Another incident happened in March 2009, when a boy aged four had to take off his leg braces at the security terminal. This took place at the Philadelphia International Airport. While the security agents were aware that the boy could not walk without the braces, they still had him take them off. An apology was later issued by the TSA after a lot of public backlash.

One unforgettable incident was when an eight year old was placed on a security watch list. This gaffe involved a young boy, Mikey Hicks, who had the misfortune of having a similar name to an individual who had long been on the Homeland Security radar. Upon checking in at the checkpoint with his parents, his name sparked an alarm on the screening systems. He was subsequently taken through a more intense security screening, much to the astonishment of other passengers.

Physical pain has also been occasioned in some incidences. Mandi Hamlin once had to take her nipple rings off. She could not pass through the metal detectors without the alarms going off. Despite her pleas for a private physical check, the agents insisted she remove them. This is one undesirable experience.




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