I could have packed C4 on a 747
Just a quick story to prove how much the TSA blows fucking balls. I recently traveled from Miami International to Frankfurt. Being a hobbyist photographer, I packed my large backpack with all sorts of cameras, lenses and this large X-ray guard bag which I packed with a few dozen rolls of film.
Having heard about the recent changes to TSA policy and full-body scanners and what not, I thought I would have a hard time passing through security with all that gear. I didn't bother taking the guard bag out of the backpack, I expected a thorough search anyway after the backpack went through the x-ray scanner.
After I passed through the metal detector (no full-body xray scanner), I awaited patiently for my shit to come through the luggage scanner. My Mac rolled out, my shoes did and then the scanner stopped and two guys stared at the screen blankly. One guy pointed at the screen and said "have this bag checked when it comes out". He then left his post and the other guy sat down. The new guy stared blankly some more at the scan of my backpack, then pressed a button and the bag rolled out.
I waited for 30 seconds before I scooped it up and walked away.
Now, the guard bag with the film inside showed up as a solid black brick on the scanner. There was no way for them to see inside the guard bag without inspecting it manually by hand. In theory, I could have packed a good pound of explosives onto the plane and blew 300+ people right out of the sky. And with the plane crashing into a populated area, we could have had Lockerbie all over again.
Just unbelievable. Billions spent on air travel security, yet there is still incompetent monkeys employed who just don't give a fuck.
Having heard about the recent changes to TSA policy and full-body scanners and what not, I thought I would have a hard time passing through security with all that gear. I didn't bother taking the guard bag out of the backpack, I expected a thorough search anyway after the backpack went through the x-ray scanner.
After I passed through the metal detector (no full-body xray scanner), I awaited patiently for my shit to come through the luggage scanner. My Mac rolled out, my shoes did and then the scanner stopped and two guys stared at the screen blankly. One guy pointed at the screen and said "have this bag checked when it comes out". He then left his post and the other guy sat down. The new guy stared blankly some more at the scan of my backpack, then pressed a button and the bag rolled out.
I waited for 30 seconds before I scooped it up and walked away.
Now, the guard bag with the film inside showed up as a solid black brick on the scanner. There was no way for them to see inside the guard bag without inspecting it manually by hand. In theory, I could have packed a good pound of explosives onto the plane and blew 300+ people right out of the sky. And with the plane crashing into a populated area, we could have had Lockerbie all over again.
Just unbelievable. Billions spent on air travel security, yet there is still incompetent monkeys employed who just don't give a fuck.
i'm so glad i fly out of that airport
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