cordelli

Yet her husband had no problem giving his name for the story? Adds to the strangeness. And most certainly, for me, lowers any credibility to her claim they will be targeted on future flights (really, if that's the case, they probably both should not have given their names, or town, since she says they travel together around the world)

The TSA has apologized, and is releasing their side of the story

From http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...tml?source=den

I would expect the real facts to be somewhere between what she is claiming and what the TSA is claiming.

chollie

"Perhaps" your point-of-view would come across better if you left off the gratuitous name-calling and hyperbolic accusations.

"Perhaps" you could provide a cite to a post where an FTer (even one) has said 'everything is a huge conspiracy to take away our rights'.

chollie

Please explain what you think Tom Sawyer did wrong.

(Tom Sawyer is the man whose ostomy bag was manhandled and leaked all over him during a forceful grope. Apparently TSA did some 'minute' little thing wrong or Pistole would not have apologized to him.

Now Mr. Sawyer has had his ostomy bag manhandled again at the same airport.

Did he make too big a 'stink'? Not enough 'stink'?

How often do you fly anyway?

chollie

The fact that TSA has publicly apologized leads me to believe that on the whole, the fault was more TSA than the woman. Otherwise, TSA would simply kick out the usual sound bit ("we haven't received a complaint yet (because we just threw it away" or "we'll look into it, highest standards, blabla).

In the TSA BS quoted on the link, there are references to the the 'rules' about medical supplies, but not one word about ice for medications that need to be kept chilled.

And now they are checking to make sure the gel packs are still frozen? Arses.

4nsicdoc

And we have a winner!

LuvAirFrance

Bah. They'd call it an "isolated incident" and "regrettable" and just go on the crazy way. Like the military does when missiles kill bystanders.

spd476

The TSA spokesman said that ice packs need to be completely frozen and hers were not. Does the TSA realize that ice packs will eventually melt? It seems a little unreasonable to expect that a ice pack is going to stay completely solid.

I'm not sure why she would need ice packs to begin with. Insulin will still be good for about 30 days at room temperature. I never use ice packs when I travel. I have an insulated pouch just to protect it from extreme temperatures. If anybody wants to travel with an ice pack and gets their insulin through a mail order program, the ice packs they use are awesome. They stay solid for a long time and one can fit in a quart size bag if necessary.

If the TSA tries to take away my insulin, that's not going to happen. I don't care how many TSO's, LEO's, FSD's, etc need to get involved. I've already accepted the fact that I will get the opt out patdown due to my pump. I can't let them take my insulin at any cost.

chollie

You say the insulin will keep for 30 days at room temperature. Does it matter if it has been opened or not? How about in PHX temps?

According the the article, she's been on insulin and has travelled with it, both here and abroad, for years without a problem.

What TSA doesn't explain: if it was a 'misunderstanding' and she 'accidentally' left her insulin behind at the checkpoint, what happened to it? Did the TSO throw it away? Instead of trying to get it back to the pax? (Really? So would a TSO at a checkpoint also throw away jewelry left behind?)

For those who say she should have escalated, it sounds like she did. The article says she talked to a supervisor who told her she could get ice inside the sterile area. So we have at least two TSOs involved in the incident, one of them a supervisor (and if it was typical of TSA, at least another half dozen TSOs to 'watch'). And they all watched her walk away upset about her insulin and didn't call to her attention that she had left it behind? BS, I don't believe it happened that way.

Where are the tapes, TSA? And if they are released, will we see the everything, or will there (again) be unexplained missing parts like there were with Stacy Amato?

Honestly, what makes me most inclined to take her side is that TSA issued a half-assed apology. That is not like TSA. Not at all. I can only think of one other occasion when it has happened - Tom Sawyer.

The only other explanation is patently absurd: that someone at PHX is finally getting a clue that there are real checkpoint problems at this airport (also baggage claim problems and a serious leadership vacuum).

cordelli

And yet another version of the story from MSNBC.

This time only one vial went missing, and there was a discussion with her and the TSA about the ice pack.

So he tells MSNBC they got through with a full vial and a half vial and only one went missing, but they told the other interview

Sorry folks, I'm losing any possibility of believing them on this one, their story just keeps making less and less sense the way they told it (or the way it was first reported)

LLUMom

Am I supposed to feel safer because they took a diabetic pregnant woman's insulin away?

Her story is quite believable given all the other absurdities that happen. I don't think any blame is due her - even if she didn't watch over every tiny item in her bag. We all have (and have had) lapses. Especially those of us who have been pregnant.... And don't accuse her of overreacting - it's the instinct for preservation kicking in. That's ok!

jkhuggins

Not at all. These days, knowing the husband's name doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the wife's name ...

chollie

+1

Plus, the reporting is pretty bad. It's not clear what the timeline was, ie, perhaps she was understandably afraid to give her name out for fear of future retaliation (a very real concern, with both TSA and PHX). It isn't clear to me who took the story to the media or when - it may have been her husband. It also isn't clear who the source of all of the info is - the pax or her husband, who was not actually there.

I'm still inclined to believe her account of things because of TSA's reaction. Particularly because this is TSA at PHX. The statement TSA made is completely out-of-character - more specifics and less boilerplate than I recall ever seeing before.

For anyone who Monday-morning quarterbacks and says "why didn't she blabla, especially if she has flown before and should know what to expect, there's no excuse", I have two words:

Alvin Crabtree

He knew the routine, went to work every day, knew he had a gun that was not allowed at the checkpoint, but he..what? 'spaced'? Pax aren't allowed to 'space' without consequences, but he was.

Georgia Peach

Is there any plausible reason why the insulin was confiscated? None that I can think of.

Boggie Dog

There is no plausbile reason for TSA either.

Rondall

“We talked to all of our people and they didn’t touch her insulin," said TSA spokeswoman Pat Ahlstrom.

The TSA apology would seem to only be lip-service. If it was genuine, wouldn't the quote be; "We talked to all of our people and they say they didn't touch her insulin,"?

Perhaps Pat is telegraphing what TSA has chosen to believe. That this is all the pregnant diabetic's fault.