I was detained for 30 minutes because TravelPro left 2 screw drivers behind in the construction of my suite case. It took 9 officer and passing my bag a dozen times to located them and then interrogate me why I had these. I explained I had new tracks place in recently and then they started to ask about my affiliation with terrorist organizations. They disassemble my suitcase in pieces gave me a 2 boxes to put my belongings in and my broken down case in the other and sent me on my way. I was sweating balls thinking I was about to be arrested. The lead officer told me to enjoy my flight and never bring screw drivers in her airport again. My question is why TSA never picked up on these over 20 times it passed through. Goes to show you TSA is still run by a bunch of amateurs.

You need to contact TravelPro and tell them what happened. You are entitled to a new suitcase as a result of their error. You may want to contact a lawyer like Alexandar Anolik(San Francisco) or your local Actionline to get them to retrieve the suitcase from HKG. Clearly this was not your fault and I would feel the same way as how would I know there were screwdrivers left.

I am sorry you lost your precious suitcase. HKG should have just confiscated the screwdrivers and gave your suitcase back. You should contact the Head of HKG security and tell them what happened. Here in America you would give up the screwdrivers and they would allow you to have the bag. Its like what if I forgot that I had a Swiss Army knife from a camping trip. I would mail it home or put it in my check bags and then go through security.

Please keep us updated. I'm sure your bag is expensive.

And once again the TSA leads the world in the thinking that it's more important to take pointy objects away than to go after people with ill-intent.

Were HKG not (sort of) part of authoritarian China I might have made the point that I could fly business or first class, smash a glass against the wall and thereby create an object on the plane far more deadly than a few small screwdrivers.

But I tend to demure on those issues overseas as I don't know precisely what my rights would be in case of arrest. I choose to fight these battles in my own country, so I'm not faulting you there.

Similar experience (though much more benign exchange) last year with the U.S. embassy guards in Berlin. They use the same x-ray equipment as TSA but know how to use it. We'd all be a lot safer if TSA employed people with their level of skill & experience.

And they were very nice & polite, too.

French security took my wife's miniature scissors. But they didn't take anything else.

The issue in nwa330�s situation is that it appears to screening staff that he was attempting to smuggle weapons onto an aircraft which is substantially more serious than simply forgetting that a banned item was in the bag. I think he was lucky that the screeners believed his story. I wonder whether, if nwa330 had been of Middle Eastern descent and this had happened in North America or Western Europe, he would have made his flight.

I understand from the original post that he was able to take with him his TravelPro case (in bits and in a box).

If you can determine beyond any doubt that a passenger�s intent is benign and not sinister, then I would agree with you. Until then, we have no choice but to ensure that items that could be used as weapons are not smuggled on board. Of course, like you, I don�t believe TSA or other government agencies, US or foreign, do it particularly effectively or efficiently. I don�t like the threat of terrorism nor our responses to them but it is a fact of life today and I don�t see it getting better any time soon.

Actually, in HK, even without real democracy or a constitution, your civil and legal rights are often better protected than in many US states.

HKG security. Yes, very thorough but also very predictable, and to some extent easily fooled (but not in the OP's case).

I always pick up water bottles at the RCC or EK lounge at HKG. I don't do it to see if they will find them as I board my flight, but I can see how it might be misinterpreted in this manner. Sure enough, no matter how inadvertently/artfully I have placed the bottles, they are always picked up by HKG security during the hand check. They are always apologetic at having to take my bottles. I have determined that the only way to dodge the pre-boarding security check is to board with a group of people together, follow one to of them to a table, hang out for maybe a second or two and then walk toward the boarding door of the aircraft.

MUC Security took my Dad's water once he was beyond p*ssed.