Security & casts?
 

Does anyone here know what the TSA procedure is for casts? I damaged my achilles tendon, and I'm in a big ugly aircast from the knee down. In two weeks I have a business trip to NYC, and I'm wondering how much of a hassle getting through security is going to be. It's a walking cast, so I don't have crutches, at least. Does the TSA wand casts? Do they have any procedures that they usually follow to deal with them?

This is going to be a fun trip no matter what the TSA does. Right now I'm wondering why in the world I agreed to all this. Aaaah, fun! :eek:

i had the pleasure of travelling with the "frankenstein boot (ankle surgery & mine up to just below the knee) and since the metal buckles set off the wtmd.....

i would tell them that i can take it off so they can x-ray it but i have to sit while they do it. i was wanded and patted down-waist down while sitting with me pulling up my pant leg so they didn't have to touch my ankle and from the waist up while standing after i put the boot back on.

shouldn't be much of a delay and it might even get you to the front of the line and if they have the puffer, i'd opt for that as well but either way you should be patted down as above (or at least request the "sitting and standing" pat down if they tell you as it sure made it easier for me)

lastly, the airports i used while booted were sfo, ord, bur, lax iad & pbi

A few weeks ago my girlfriend had to travel (to an event for my family, poor thing) with a plastic ankle brace. LAX-OKC and back.

I wasn't in LAX with her, but she said they ETD swabbed her brace in LAX.

I watched her go through in OKC. She refused to take off her moderate-soled sneakers after they "suggested" it (LAX T7 did not tell her to take her shoes off) and told OKC the refusal was because of her ankle injury while pointing at the bulge of the brace. She did not set off the WTMD even with the brace, and the brace was invisible enough under her jeans that TSA probably would not have noticed it if she hadn't mentioned it. TSA sent her to secondary, swabbed her shoes, and then swabbed her brace. (In series--she had to sit there while they swabbed one shoe, tested, swabbed other shoe, tested, swabbed the brace, tested.)

I seriously question why TSA swabbed the brace (which was under her pants, quite small in mass, and did not set off the WTMD) other than as retaliation for not playing shoe carnival. They did not pat down or wand her body; had they done so I would have had a blank complaint form ready. :mad:

Good luck.

As a postscript, it amazes me how much more irritating it is to watch people you care about get hassled (or retaliated against) by TSA than to go through it oneself. I've experienced this both with my Mother (watched her get SSSS-treatment for daring to fly on a one-way ticket) and my girlfriend, and after both experiences I was more upset than I have ever been after my own encounters (which admittedly have been mostly neutral or positive).

I had a permanent hand cast about 6 months ago. All they did was wand me and run the bomb/drug pads over the cast to make sure you're not smuggling anything. Takes no longer than a standard wand job.

Castes?
 

And here I thought this was about preferential treatment of differing East Indians. :rolleyes: :confused: :o :D

Folks...we've had to remove some posts sue to inflammatory rhetoric.
This is a simply a thread on airport security and surgical casts.
Let's get a grip here, save the angst for elsewhere and keep the responses civil and on-topic.
Thanks for your cooperation.

_____________________________

Cholula
Travel safety/Security Forum Moderator

It would seem that if you have a lightweight cast with a metal frame of some sort--a friend of mine currently has one for a combo sprained ankle / broken leg injury--that you could conceal a blade in it and get past security.

You'll set off the WTMD and/or have to be wanded, but the metal frame that you can claim cannot be removed would set off the wand and have to be cleared eventually (they can't deny you flying over a cast you cannot remove without potentially causing medical injury, after all)... and since you're not planning to carry on explosives, you won't set off the swab.

Of course, what you could actually do with said blade is pretty limited, but it goes to show one more way a would-be bad guy could get a weapon onboard without being caught.

Many thanks to those of you who shared some experiences with security & walking casts.

I have the "Frakenboot" that goes up to my knee. It's actually all plastic & padding & tons of velcro, so I don't believe that it would set off the metal detector. But it's huge, you could certainly smuggle something non-metallic through within it. It's possible to hop around with it off, but not very far, and it's extremely difficult to get it off while standing up.

It looks like this one being auctioned on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=19264

I can take it off, if I'm sitting down. So it sounds like my best bet is to go through the metal detector, and ask for a seat to sit in & take it off & allow them to send it through the x-ray.

If I have to do that, but the cast doesn't set off the metal detector, how likely am I to also get the pat-down and wanding? Is there any standard TSA procedure for dealing with casts like this?

Having had the displeasure of wearing the "Frankenboot", my experience has been similar to the other posters. Even if you don't set off the WTMD, they'll want to take of the cast and check it. Most times I had the swab test, but I did have the boot xrayed more than once. If it's a real problem, i.e. excruciating pain, to take of the cast, be patient and explain that to the TSA officer. Also, allow enough time to clear security without having to rush through. Why subject yourself to more stress than necessary.

Hope you have a speedy recovery.

don't hop as it's not safe-the last thing you want to do is fall and have to deal w/government paperwork. also (and i learned from experience) if you decide to hop, you can't use the wtmd or the other side of the conveyor for support as touching it is not allowed so you're better off taking a seat and handing them the boot