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Underwire bra dispute causes woman to miss her flight
First it was loose change in your pockets, then it was jewelry, and then it was shoes. For Jet Blue passenger Nancy Kates, it seems like bras might be the next thing to go in the airport security line. A big-busted woman, Kates was wearing a large underwire bra as she went through the security check at Oakland International Airport but when it set off the metal detector she was pulled aside by a TSA agent.Kates accuses the agent of getting a little too personal. "The woman touched my breast. I said, 'You can't do that,' " Kates said. "She said, 'We have to pat you down.' I said, 'You can't treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.' "
Refusing to be fondled, Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's surpervisor. Kates reminded the TSA agents that the Constitution bars unreasonable searches and that "scrutinizing a woman's brassiere is surely unreasonable." She was offered a private room to have her pat-down, but Kates refused. Instead she asked if she could simply remove her bra, to which the TSA agent agreed. This isn't the first breast related TSA incident, but the whole escapade took 40 minutes and caused Kates to miss her flight. Jet Blue was nice enough to put her on another one.
Being a woman, I myself have had the bra pat-down several times, and I'm sure there are other fellow females on the Gadling team that have gone through the same experience. Normally such pat-downs are off limits to fingers; TSA agents only use the side of their hands. But all the same it's still a little unnerving. As Kates said, "If I was carrying nail clippers and forgot about them, I wouldn't have gotten so upset. But here I was just wearing my underwear."
What are your thoughts? Is it humiliating to get a pat-down to make sure the underwire in your bra is what's setting off the metal detector?
10 tips for smarter flying
Filed under: United States, Airports, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 17)
Ayle Aug 26th 2008 9:48PM
She should have asked if she could remove her bra after speaking to the first supervisor....
GSRWn1fan Aug 27th 2008 6:11PM
There was a comedian that stated that we should all show up at the airport in the nude, guess that is what it is going to take
lrafghangirl@aol.com Aug 27th 2008 10:18PM
i agree wit you, people we should kinda see it from their point of view, (okay, I'll admit their unreasonable sometimes) one time i was traveling, and took my school back bag which had my pencil case in it (to do my h.w) and my scissors were in there, and it set off the alarm, they just like inspected the blade (to make sure i didn't kill any people with it) and i was good...
Linda Aug 28th 2008 4:00PM
Well, I got pulled over and searched coming back from the Bahamas. Had to remove a hair clip, lipstick container in my pocket, and then the alarm still kept going off. So then i was manually searched and my bra clasp went off on a hand wand. It was a mess. I was not treated to kindly. But then again I have long blond hair and blue eyes. LOL. So, yes the alarms will go off on bra clasps
Sister Teddy Apr 9th 2009 12:53PM
Common sense is very uncommon in security matters. Hysteria is the rule of behavior. An 80-year-old woman from my church, who is very proud of her athletic lifestyle and trim figure wears an under-wire bra. Aren't they all underwire unless you deliberately remove it? That's the shaping. Anyway, she refused to strip, and was arrested. She was detained, a couple of hours, and missed her flight, but was not jailed because her children/grandchildren are all active in local politics and the mayor and a superior court justice both showed up at the airport to tell the security guards to lighten up. Her daughter then re-dressed her in garments which had been passed through the scanner and she got on a later plane. She was more amused than bitter, and it certainly gave her a story to tell at boring dinner parties.
Hugh May 7th 2009 7:39AM
Ladies, ladies! The answer is simple, go commando! You'll breeze right through the metal detectors ans we men will love you for it. As the Irish say: Erin go braless!
Harcourt Fenton Mudd Aug 27th 2008 2:17AM
What a crock of crap! This stuff continues to happen.
I haeard about a woman who had body piercings in ahem...private places, and she was made to go to the women's bathroom with an agent of the TSA, take them out, out them in a baggie, put her clothes back on and then be re scanned, then she went back to the bathroom down tha hall and put her body ornaments back on....what a waste of time and manpower!
Sieben Aug 27th 2008 7:00PM
Don't you want to be SAFE. Whatever it takes to keep the skies safe I am for
Judy Woodstock Jan 13th 2010 2:24PM
I am a single 62 year old grandmother and I was pulled over for a body search at the Atlanta airport. I was disappointed that it was a women that search me. It would have been more fun if it was a he!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob Aug 27th 2008 4:26AM
The TSA is a joke! A recent test by their own people managed to get up to 57 percent of fake bombs, bomb parts and fake explosives past inspectors. Think about that!
If over half of stuff can slip by, you would think if there were terrorists working airports, you would have planes falling out of the sky on a daily basis.
This has got to be one of the biggest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the American public.
Melissa Aug 28th 2008 10:31AM
Bob,
Why don't you come up with a better solution instead of just tearing things down? What would you do in place of body checking? That's what terrorists do - they hide explosives, etc on their person.
chelewk21 Aug 27th 2008 4:42PM
You're not very intelligent are you? They are able to get past because the majority of the parts are plastic, and not metal, therefore it doesn't set off the detectors.
j Apr 9th 2009 12:53PM
Totally agree. TSA does not seem to be competent at all.
Carolyn Aug 27th 2008 2:07PM
Happened to me once in Detroit airport right after 9/11. Humiliating and unnerving. So now I have a special bra with no underwire that I always wear when I fly. Clothing manufacturers take notice: use plastic for underwire rather than metal!
Jackie Mar 8th 2009 1:08AM
Very smart idea, thank you. I was ready to go bra-less next time I'd fly.
Alu May 7th 2009 11:38AM
They use metal because it doesn't break as easily. Plastic breaks much easier than metal and there for is not used in making quality, long lasting bras. But I do agree with the wireless bra while flying.
Gina Jan 8th 2010 2:44PM
Since I fly only twice a year and during the month of May, I wear a halter top with a shelf bra already sewn into the garment. However, you still have to choose carefully. Get the ones that are not adjustable. The first time, I wore one with the little metal rings and the adjustable whatever you want to call it and it set off the metal detector which caused me to be patted and the wand brought out. Now I wear flip flops, jeans without any metal riveting, non-adjustable halter top with shelf bra and remove all jewelry.
But, then again, I've found that not all metal detectors are set to the same settings. I went through one (I forget where) and forgot to take a quarter out of my pocket and my metal framed eye glasses were still on my head and the metal detector didn't go off.
pat Feb 19th 2010 1:34PM
aaahhhh yessss...a "special" bra...would that be known as a "sport bra"??? btw, most of these females who THINK they need an underwire bra have nothing to hold up...(LOL) If TSA is a joke, then how come, there has not been a repeat of 9/11 in the U.S.???!!! And I don't see YOU coming up w/ a better solution!!!
Bruce Aug 27th 2008 2:11PM
Obviously, in the interest of safety, all women will just have to remove their bras when going through airport security!!!
jrthomson Aug 27th 2008 2:14PM
My underwire bra set off an alarm in the Paris airport. They wanded me; I told them it was an underwire bra; and they sent me on my way. No fuss, no muss.