So, did they dropped all the charges against him? He is very lucky that he didn't have to bring a explosives. He never had. He was admitted that he made a big gravely mistakes. It was not his fault. Next time he have to leave the grenades at home. Don't bring along with you. Don't do it! It could be very dangerous.

Turn it over. Hollowed out, safe. Otherwise it goes to the bomb guys.

Yeah, in a military context most of the time, this is the procedure (for the most part). In this setting, where you have no clue the history or lineage of the item, it becomes a bit different. Also, I do not want people that have not been trained on handling (possible) explosives... well, handling (possible) explosives! TSOs are not trained in the proper handling of unknown explosive items, and I truly wish to keep it that way - because if I discover a grenade in a bag, especially with all the other clutter and electronics in the bag with it, I am not going to touch it. That job belongs to the TSSEs (TSA explosives experts) if they are available, the EOD if there are no TSSEs around.

Wrong. Almost every screener encounters (possible) explosives at every checkpoint on every shift. Through continuous daily on the job training, every TSO is an expert at handling unknown explosive items.

They find 16 ounce containers of the (possible) high explosive Dihydrogen Monoxide, pick up this unknown (possible) explosive with their bare hands, then dispose of this explosive hazmat liquid by dropping it into a trash can full of other unknown explosive items including toothpaste, snowglobes and cupcakes. Then they stand next to this trash can full of (possible) explosives for the rest of their shift.

Picking up a grenade isn't going to make it go boom. I wouldn't go tugging it out from amongst other things--but when it's buried like that will the TSA even know it's a grenade in the first place?

I would venture that a real grenade body (whether inert or live) will show up on the xray well enough to define the shape and determine "holy crap thats a grenade". However, you add in the clutter and electronics and other stuff, and it becomes a situation where you may not be able to determine if it is rigged to something, or just a paperweight. I am willing to bet money that the item stayed right there in the xray until the EOD guys pulled it out - which is exactly what should have happened if there was any question at all. Even if they were able to determine whether the item is not surrounded by anything that causes questions, I still do not wish to see the TSOs handling something that could be live (even though a grenade will not explode without outside involvement - much like a firearm). You and I know from previous experience, that grenade is not going to do anything until you activate it, the same with a firearm - not everyone has had that experience or training. While I understand that it is a remote possibility that anything bad would happen, I still want the TSSEs or EOD guys to handle grenades or possible explosives. With all the modifications being done to items all over the world, I would hesitate to handle one nowadays, because there may be something changed or modified that I might miss. This was not something picked up out of the shipping container on the grenade range, this was something they have no idea of the lineage on, caution and calling in someone with focused experience and training is an easy call.

It's just going to be a blob on the x-ray, isn't it?

Why does this exact logic not apply, as Flaflyer indicated above, to pulling water bottles, coke cans, cupcakes, shampoo and baby formula out of people's bags?

Your organization continues to claim that these things are all "possible explosives" and "could be live". You have "no idea of the lineage" of that snowglobe or peanut butter, either.

Although I doubt you will admit it, what this incident shows is that TSA knows that grenades are (until proved inert) real explosives, and liquids/gels/cupcakes are pretend explosives. But they make good props for the theater performance.

Picking up a fresh, operational, unaltered grenade, under controlled or semi-controlled circumstances, will usually not make it go boom.

However, grenades carried by civilians into situations like commercial aviation are typically not fresh-from-the-factory ordnance. Rather, they are usually war souvenirs, which can be quite old and no longer be in nominal operating condition. The pin could be rusted, the spoon could be loose, core could be unstable, the explosive load could be contaminated or deteriorated or unstable. Any such instability increases the risk of the weapon going boom from casual handling.

Likewise, there is no way to tell prior to picking it up whether such a weapon is in original configuration or has been altered in some fashion, such as inclusion in an IED, and any such alteration can de-stabilize the weapon, again, increasing the risk of it going boom from casual handling.

In this particular case, we're talking about a grenade. Though it could be a live grenade, an inert grenade, or a realistic replica, it is simple prudence to treat it as a real, live grenade until proven otherwise.

Though it could be a stand-alone device carried by someone meaning no harm, or it could be a component of an IED intended to do harm, it is simple prudence to treat it as part of an IED - thus altered, unstable, and potentially booby-trapped - until proven otherwise.

Basically, if you see a grenade, treat it like live wire: DON'T FREAKIN' TOUCH IT.

But the passenger picked it up and put it in the bag in the first place. It's not the same thing as if you find one laying around--I certainly wouldn't touch an old grenade lying around!

But the TSOwho picked it up didn't know whether the passenger picked it up and put it in their carry-on, or WIRED it into theior carry-on and set it up to go boom as soon as it was disturbed.

And anyone who picks up something that looks convincingly like a hand grenade when they find it in a carry-on is an imbecile.

In spite of the occasional rah-rah rhetoric about being on the frontlines in the WOT, I suspect the majority of TSOs at the checkpoint don't really expect to find anything truly threatening. They don't really believe there's anything wrong with the liquids they're confiscating (and in the case of the expensive perfume in a 'grenade-like' bottle, they knew perfectly well what they were confiscating).

In the unlikely event that someone does show up with something really nasty artfully concealed, I worry just as much about it being mishandled as I do about it not being caught at all.

Fortunately, I think it extraordinarily unlikely that a real threat will go through the checkpoint. There are too many other gaping holes to exploit, so jaded or inattentive or careless TSOs at the checkpoint don't make me fear for my safety.

Ditto. If a real bomb ever actually showed up in a carry-on, assuming that TSA actually found it (unlikely considering their track record), they'd most likely blow the entire c/p to ravioli immediately by picking it up and shaking it like a Christmas gift.

I gotta say, when I saw this:


I immediately thought of this:



Of course, for those who haven't seen the movie:

Light Grenade Scene

Reminds me of a regular poster here who travels with a lot of work-related gear in his carry-on. TSO was holding a piece of gear, purpose unknown, and suggesting it might be extremely dangerous - all the while, flipping a switch on the item he was holding.

It is extraordinarily difficult to maintain a state of high-alert. It doesn't get any easier when one is simultaneously praised for and distracted by non-threats like large amounts of currency, drugs, and known non-threats. For that matter, I'm not so sure it wouldn't be a good idea to put the xray operators in booths somewhere so they're not distracted by conversations and general airport noise.

Not always, of course, this is a stock file photo, and there is like hardly anything else in this case, but this can give you a basic representation of what they will sometimes look like. Please keep in mind that there is nothing else in this bag to obscure/clutter the image (which makes seeing the item much easier).

http://www.canstockphoto.com.br/cont...-13664932.html