Originally Posted by
eyecue
The amount of time that has passed is disturbing. I cant help but wonder if this was filed two years later in hopes that the video in the baggage room is now deleted. That would leave TSA a little on the weak side of a case. However, the processes that are in place cover this event rather well. IF there was anything amiss in the bag when it was opened to check the container, there is a report on it. The reason for the report is because the notice of inspection that is put in the bag makes it appear that TSA is at fault. With the things I see baggage go through in terms of abuse by the mechanical systems and the ground crew, the item could have been put back in original condition and it became spilled from the jarring etc. that takes place when baggage is moved to the plane.
IF there was anything amiss in the bag and it was caused by a TSO, there is not a report on that.
But let's play along for a moment. If a TSO had actually spilled something in a piece of luggage and files a report on it, what actually happens? Does the report include photographic evidence of the bag's condition? Does the bag's owner get notified when there is a report?
What happens if there is such a report and the bag's owner files a complaint? Is there some way that a complaint can be linked to a bag, to a report, or to a specific screener?
I can actually imagine a scenario where a TSO spills human remains in a bag, files a report, the bag owner files a complaint, and the complaint is dismissed because the report and the complaint are filed in different computer systems and handled by different departments who never talk to each other. All neat and tidy, and wholly unsatisfactory.
Until there is some verifiable chain of custody of checked luggage, the airline can blame TSA, and TSA can blame the airline, and nobody is held accountable for luggage loss, damage, or theft. But until that time, I choose to hold the person who opens and rifles through the luggage liable for theft and internal damage, and the people who throw the luggage about liable for crush and impact damage.