lol! i for one will sleep better tonight knowing this!

Balderdash. Not even ONE of them. WHAT do you check for them? Certainly not cargo or checked baggage. Certainly not passengers. Not the catered food or drink.

You're using the Smiths Detection IONSCAN 500DT?

Explosives Detected RDX, PETN, NG, TNT, HMX, TATP and others

Narcotics Detected Cocaine, Heroin, Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, MDA, THC and others

Or the other item on the QPL: GE ITEMISERDX?

I don't believe you have the technology to detect ricin, sarin, or biological agents. What equipment can you point to that does?

Just need to watch those Lockdown shows on MSNBC to show how easy it is to make stabbing instruments out of seemingly innocent household items. One of those days someone will hide something up their butt that will down a plane, then will we all be subject to cavity searches?

why dont i believe you, then again you admitting for searching for items outside of your charter hence violation of law and constitution.

Then again i think if TSA ever came upon a real WMD it would be a code brown of chickens running around with there heads chopped off. AQ doesnt have to do the dirty work with TSA does it for them 99.99999999999999999999999% of the time. All they have to do is say "boo"

More deadly than all of that is airline food.

The "canary in a coal mine" test can be used for a couple of the dangerous items listed. If one of eyecue's fellow TSOs keels over, eyecue could have seconds left to make his peace with the world, call for a supervisor, or pat down another suspect. ;)

What would you do in this situation?

^ +1000! Recovering from a wicked case of food poisoning. I blame the breakfast I had on DL.

Ah don need no frikin' 'quipmen. Ma nose dun tell me an' dat's all I neeze ta nose.

Do not make the common mistake of believing that the TSA exists to prevent weapons from getting on board, or prevent terrorists from getting on board.

As has been stated by several posters claiming to be TSA employees, the TSA is not concerned with terrorists or weapons.

Their only concern is insuring that "prohibited items" do not get on board.

It does not matter if a particular item presents a threat to above-wing safety or security as long as it is on that list.

This is why the TSA is more concerned about drugs than about your keys.

In 10 years of law enforcement, I saw more injuries and terror inflicted upon one human to another by hands/fists/feet than any other weapon. I'm surprised TSA doesn't have us all sitting handcuffed, leg shackled and belly chained on our flights like ConAir.

To which I can add: Anybody with any training in martial arts is a deadly weapon. Following this type of logic, TSA should collect names of all students from all martial arts schools and put them all on the NFL.

Having read this thread, I wonder: What if 9/11 actually used some of the items mentioned here instead of box cutters? What if they had martial arts training and used that? What kind of a knee-jerk reaction would government have inflicted on us then?

See my post just above yours. There's your knee jerk reaction. Conair. Not too far away in my opinion. Who could have ever predicted 10 or 15 years ago we would be at a point where full body x-rays and prison style friskings would be par for the course for ordinary citizens to travel.

The simple solution would be to make passengers stow their arms and legs in the overhead bins for the duration of the flight.:p

Either that or handcuffed with a full bag over our heads as in Brazil or V for Vendetta.

Anything for security, of course.

It's hard to reattach arms and legs well, is the problem. Brains, OTOH, all you need is that cap thing that those gals had when they did Spock. Anyone can be a brain attacher with that cap - even...even, dare I say it...

No, I don't think I can go that far. Even the cap has its limits.