That was my immediate reaction as well. But after her experience, she is very, very upset (there really aren't words to express this kind of thing) and isn't sure she wants to have to relive the experience, which is what it takes to bring a lawsuit or file a formal complaint. I can't say that I blame her.

It was TSA that performed the search. Because of the factors I mentioned, she had an SSSS on her boarding pass. When the screeners scanned her passport again, and saw that she had been born in another country and that her last name had been changed, that was when things went downhill quickly.

I will be flying next May, a one-way flight to catch a cruise ship that ends its sailing near my home. My last name was changed when I got married. I am not looking forward to that flight.

This thread was supposed to be about what is reasonable in a search. I think it's clear that what TSA believes is reasonable, and what the flying public thinks is reasonable, are two entirely different things. Before I heard about this incident, I was inclined to think that maybe the whole breast-search thing wasn't such a big deal, and all the slippery slope arguments were a bit overblown. Now I'm convinced that common sense is not at work at our airports.