STORY

TSA Pat-Down and Fertilizer

  • TSA Pat-Down and Fertilizer

  • A funny Travel anecdote about getting flagged by airport security at PDX.
  • The TSA Incident

    • On April 9, 2012, I went through security at Portland (PDX).
    • I got flagged for a full secondary screening due to a "double fault."
    • First, I was wearing a new Scottevest shirt with side pockets. The body scanner flagged these pockets as "anomalies."
    • Second, during the subsequent light pat-down, the TSA officer's testing gloves picked up trace residue of fertilizer that I had walked through earlier that morning.
    • This combination sent me directly to secondary screening before I was finally cleared to fly.
These facts are as Randal recalls them, but much time has passed for most of this. If you find a factual error, please email realmerlyn@gmail.com.