After 32 years on the job as a flight attendant, not to mention being a breast cancer survivor, a North Carolina woman says airport screeners went too far when they told her to remove her prosthetic breast during a recent pat-down.
The flight attendant was on her way to work at Charlotte Douglas International In early August when a TSA agent said she needed to go to a personal screening area where she was submitted to what she describes as an aggressive pat-down by two female agents.
That’s when one of the agents hands noticed a difference in the flight attendant’s right breast, which had been removed as part of her cancer treatment.
Recalls the flight attendant:
She put her full hand on my breast and said, ‘What is this?’. And I said, ‘It’s my prosthesis because I’ve had breast cancer.’ And she said, ‘Well, you’ll need to show me that’.
I did not take the name of the person at the time because it was just so horrific of an experience, I couldn’t believe someone had done that to me. I’m a flight attendant. I was just trying to get to work.
Following the incident, the attendant has contacted the Legislative Affairs Team, a group through the flight attendant union.
“There are blowers and there are dogs out there that can sniff out bombs,” she says. “There’s no reason to have somebody’s hands touching your body parts.”
When contacted by WBTV about the incident, a TSA representative said that agents aren’t supposed to remove any prosthetics, but are allowed to ask to see and touch any passenger’s prosthetic. They later said the incident is under review.
Cancer surviving flight attendant told to remove prosthetic breast during pat-down [WISTV.com]
Thanks to Meg for the tip!
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Somewhere in a cave terrorists are giving each other a back on the back.
I still challenge someone to go through the pat down with a stiffy.
I’m a colon cancer survivor with a colostomy bag under my clothing. Wonder how much undressing and how far I have to go to prove that I’m not hiding any bombs or drugs in my appliance? They’d be in for a surprise. But thinking that I wouldn’t have much of a sense of humor, and their actions would be borderline discrimination against the disabled.
The convenience of being able to fly on a plane is a privilege, not a basic human right..
If you don’t want to be searched, get in a car and drive.
I think it’s only fair that they ask. The day you make any exceptions of these rules is the day a (very determined!) terrorist will cut out his own balls, or her breasts, to sneak a bomb through security in a prosthetic testicle/mammary.
I can’t speak from any experience but if I had any kind of prosthesis I’d rather be treated the same as everyone else than be segregated.
I wonder if this falls under HIPAA. It should.
Guys it is now time to take viagra before you fly and to wear a kilt without underwear, have fun TSA.
She shouldn’t have gone through the strip scanners then. If they’d done the pat down, they wouldn’t have found it.
fire these oxygen thieves!
I understand the response to the threat, and given the sheer numbers of tracelers, I believe the screening process is not that bad. However, these “pat-down artists”(read: profeesional gropers) need to be terminated. sounds like most of them are overpaid troglodtes who get over-zealous in the pursuit of their paycheck.