Those Darn Malfunctions

The TSA brings its special sort of joy to Long Beach:

More than 500 passengers had to repeat security checks and four JetBlue Airways departing flights were delayed, one until after an 11 p.m. curfew…

The Transportation Security Administration, which operates passenger and baggage screening at the nation's airports, would say only that an unknown machine "malfunction" was being investigated as the culprit.

But at least two airport and law enforcement sources said a magnetometer, used to screen passengers at the airport's south passenger boarding lounge, was found about 8:30 p.m. to have been unplugged, likely for at least 15 minutes.

[Via Joanne McNeil.]

Comments

[crimethink]

That, or hook up a battery-powered eardrum-bursting alarm like the one that tells my local grocery store's employees that the can return machine is full.

Of course, they must get used to it, because they usually just ignore it...

Seriously, does the TSA have any idea what they're doing? I mean, what's the likelihood that a potential hijacker knew precisely when the magnetometer would be unplugged?

[Fred Gillette]

Do they still have random strip searches? If so, did some poor bastard have to do it a second time or did they take the oppotunity to violate someone else?

[Czar]

Obviously some terrorist unplugged the machine to make the TSA look bad. It's the only explanation.

[fredH]

Why don't they make these machines with a huge red "on" light so that when they are off it can't possibly NOT be noticed even by these worth-minimum-wage-but-now-making-three-times-that-much cretins?

[Jak Allison]

Does Anyone Know How I can Make A Machine That Breaches 150 decibells