State Department special agent.
Airport Scanner Experience
- Thread starter Doriangray6
- Start date
Kermit Grenoille
Member
Doubt it then.
Flying back from the Netherlands last year I changed flights in Chicago and when I went through the Starship Enterprise body scanner airports are now using it picked up three metal signals, two from the buckles on my bibs, hey they're comfy to travel in, and one from my right ankle so security pulled me over for a follow up scan and inspection.
I look over at the screen and see a red dot at my ankle as the guy is searching around it and ask him if the machine indicated there is metal there. When he said yes I told him that there's about half an inch of a 10mm drill bit in the ankle that broke off during one of the many reconstructions it's been through and I'd be happy to take my socks off so he can see the scars if he wants me to.
He just stood up, looked at me oddly, said "Have a nice journey sir" and waved me on my way.
Hmmm...the body scanners in use at US airports aren't metal detectors per se; they detect any anomaly, especially those that are non-porous. If you leave a plastic comb or a Dramamine pill in your pocket, or a piece of gum, or a penny...the machine will pick that up. On the operator's screen there is a stick figure of a human displayed, and a yellow box will appear wherever the anomaly is. The TSA officer then has to clear that anomaly, either by having you divest whatever is causing the alarm, or by patting down the area to clear it. Scars are anomalies. If you have a very prominent scar, especially one that is rough or uneven (such as a keloid scar or burn scar) the machine will pick that up.
While none of us likes to go through airport security, it's a necessary evil, and it isn't going away. Those scanners are designed to detect objects, such as various IED components, that a conventional metal detector would never alert to. (You can walk through a magnetometer with a kilo of C4 strapped across your body and the machine won't make a sound.) Knowing this, I make certain my pockets are empty and my belt is off, I put my feet on the footprints and my hands in the proper position, and I'm usually good to go without anybody having to pat any part of me down.
Reading through the various responses on this thread, it's obvious that some folks have very vivid imaginations...
I have 2 screws in my right shoulder that TSA gets excited about every once in a while. The ceramic rod running down my upper right arm and the screw at the bottom don't seem to get noticed. I've even had a hands-on inspection of the shoulder twice.
The plate in my right wrist doesn't seem to bother them. They have noticed the plate in my left shoulder a few times. I just have to wait for the magic wand, explain what's inside, and get a delayed a couple of minutes.
P.S. If you plan on any air travel and haven't got your "Real ID" yet, do it now. I procrastinated and screwed up. Had to spend 4-1/2 hours in our BMV office to do paperwork, then drive up to Augusta the next day for "expedited service". I couldn't wait the "approximately 30 days" for it to come by mail... besides when a Christmas card sent to a neighbor across the street got returned in mid-February I lost whatever shred of confidence remained for USPS.
The plate in my right wrist doesn't seem to bother them. They have noticed the plate in my left shoulder a few times. I just have to wait for the magic wand, explain what's inside, and get a delayed a couple of minutes.
P.S. If you plan on any air travel and haven't got your "Real ID" yet, do it now. I procrastinated and screwed up. Had to spend 4-1/2 hours in our BMV office to do paperwork, then drive up to Augusta the next day for "expedited service". I couldn't wait the "approximately 30 days" for it to come by mail... besides when a Christmas card sent to a neighbor across the street got returned in mid-February I lost whatever shred of confidence remained for USPS.
