To the OP; Buzzing in the back pack
 

Must have been Killer Bees.

The flight crew had to avoid spreading panic so they downgraded your concern.
You are correct in being very afraid. :(

Wow! More than 60 replies here - almost all of which make fun of the OP for being concerned.

If it was that obvious that there was no cause for concern, then I place the blame squarely on the FA. It would have been a simple matter for him/her to say, "Not to worry, sir. You can't imagine how often razors and electric toothbrushes get turned on accidentally when they're not packed properly. I see it all the time!" Clearly, the OP didn't know any better. The FA should have. :td:

Clearly the OP over-reacted - duh.

"Last Friday, UA185 PHL-SFO. Mrs and I in exit row on an A319.

When the doors were about to close, 3 late pax got on--man and two women. Probably 20-something. As they passed me, I heard a buzzing from the man's pack. Like a phone vibrating, but steady. Definitely not a phone. After he got seated (last row or pretty close to it), I got up and told the FA to check it out."

* So let's look at that. Because something is buzzing as the 3 folk pass the OP, his first thought is it must be something terrorist vs something mundane like phone, razor or dildo.

He then watches to see where they sit - and presumably watches to see if they reach into the bag to turn off whatever was buzzing. And then actually gets up to ask the FA to check it out.

"She did, and came back and told me "he(the pax) said it was hair clippers, and would turn them off". I asked her to get the Capt involved, and after two trips (by the FA) to the front, she told me that the purser and Capt and decided that if he got through security that was good enough."

* Then, even though the FA went & checked it out & said it was mundane (which quite frankly is better than the chipper hey you wouldn't believe how many folk bring stuff on that buzzes), the OP insisted that she go to the captain & made her do so 2x, and the captain made his ruling, he who gets to run the plane at that point btw (and who presumably doesn't want to go down in a blaze of glory either).

"We weren't happy, but decided not to take it further. It was on our minds for a while and I gotta say a little unnerving that UA was so casual about it."

* Casual in his mind - not necessarily in others.

"That afternoon I was still thinking about it, so I called Cust Svc and whined at them. The rep. told me he would kick it upstairs and gave us each 9K miles (I didn't ask for anything)."

* So then - he calls & admittedly whines about it. After the flight landed safely, after the FA checked w/ the passenger & after the captain made his ruling.

"Was I over-reacting? I didn't think so, but I wonder... Is it a good idea to assume that TSA makes no mistakes?"

* Yes, you were overreacting. And yes TSA does make mistakes, but since you had the FA & Capn saying it's ok following a TSA checkpoint, you should have let it go. Granted they didn't torture the passenger to find out if he was lying, but 3 checks is probably ok.

OVMV. Cheers.

and for good reason, IMO.

Did OP ever provide a description of the passenger whose bag was buzzing? Just curious.

Very late to the party, but if I heard buzzing coming from someone's bag, I would have gotten quite concerned...that I'd become embarrassed for them for no reason.

Fishing are we?

What on earth for? :D

It's a legitimate question. Did common societal misperceptions play a role in the OP going to such extreme lengths to determine whether or not the buzzing noise posed a threat?

Sure it's a legitimate question, but it seems to be the only question you have.

So what if it is? If someone else had bothered to ask it, I might not have to.

I'm reminded of a cartoon I saw once. The caption was,

"I've had the store closed, the employee fired and the manager shot. Is there anything else I can do?"

Some people just can't be satisfied.