TSA forces disabled boy headed to Disney to remove braces

[Magic Mom]

Disgraceful.


TSA apologizes for forcing boy heading to Disney to remove leg braces

Ryan Thomas was going to Walt Disney World for a fourth-birthday celebration in March


The Transportation Security Administration says a developmentally delayed boy heading to Orlando for a fourth-birthday celebration at Walt Disney World should not have been forced to remove his leg braces during an airport-security screening in Philadelphia in March, a Web site is reporting.

The boy's father, Bob Thomas, is a law-enforcement officer with Camden police, according to a column on Philly.com.

Thomas' son, Ryan, has malformed ankles and his legs have low muscle tone because he was born 16 weeks prematurely.

As a result, the boy wears custom-made leg braces made of metal and hardened plastic.

After an alarm went off, a TSA screener said the braces had to come off and the boy had to walk on his own, the column says.

The family complied, but they remain upset. The father contacted columnist Daniel Rubin last week about the incident.

Rubin has been reporting on alleged mistreatment of travelers during TSA screenings.

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis told Rubin that said the boy should not have been told to remove his braces.

The boy should have been directed to a private screening area, where he could have been swabbed for traces of explosive materials, Rubin is reporting.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/84368492.html

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I heard about this. It is so vile.

I can understand questioning everything, but it really seems that our disabled travelers are not being treated properly under ADA guidelines.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

True story--

There is a mom that I know whose son had to have a very...personal..surgery in North Carolina. They flew up and flew back. He is a young teen.

His surgery required a catheter bag? to be attached. In any case, that is how he was traveling.

TSA wanted further screening without mom of course. And they wanted to check him out.

Okay, I can understand the why--but where's teh common sense?

The kid finally got so frustrated that he dropped his pants and showedthem what it was.

Needless to say, TSA apologized and let him go.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

What is with this airport? If I recall correctly, the TSA agents at Philly are hot messes. Lots of bad stories in recent months.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

This happened last March. A poorly trained TSA officer and a supervisor who refused to apologize on the scene led to the complaint. Read more here...

 

[nuke]

Philly TSA sucks. They are more interested in talking with their friends than checking ids and I believe their sole purpose in life is to show their power over the flying public. It's a total joke.

 

[Magic Mom]

This happened last March. A poorly trained TSA officer and a supervisor who refused to apologize on the scene led to the complaint. Read more here...

last March?? and they are just now apologizing? That's even worse.

 

[FireDancer]

I can understand scrutinizing things like leg braces and catheter bags because anyone can disguise something as one of them. Someone willing to blow themselves up on a plane could be willing to have a catheter bag installed and filled with something dangerous. Same goes with leg braces, they can be made to conceal a weapon. To just assume they are what they appear to be is a problem. It should, however, be done discretely and in private and once it is confirmed they are what they are they should be allowed through.

The problem with the TSA is that these people are like robots following a script. They need to apply some critical thinking to their job as opposed to being sheep.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

last March?? and they are just now apologizing? That's even worse.

No, they apologized then. That was my point. This incident is an old one, dredged up, long since resolved to the satisfaction of the family...

 

[honugirl]

The TSA is getting annoying. Last time I flew I had to declare that I was traveling with syringes and injectable medication. I keep a one dose "kit" that has every thing I need in an eyeglass case for convenience. The lady took my kit, but she couldn't figure out how to open it... Um, push button, flip top. She almost wasn't going to let me fly with it because I'm not diabetic (apparently everyone with syringes and medication must be diabetic, right? There couldn't possibly be another reason to fly with that kind of stuff). Sigh.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

It was Philly. Doesn't suprise me at all, unfortunately.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

What is with this airport? If I recall correctly, the TSA agents at Philly are hot messes. Lots of bad stories in recent months.

They are seriously the worst. They hire the surliest jerks that Philly has to offer. Seriously, I stress out so badly at the airport because of them!!

 

[Magic Mom]

No, they apologized then. That was my point. This incident is an old one, dredged up, long since resolved to the satisfaction of the family...

My apologies then. My mom emailed it to me, and it's the first I've heard of it. Regardless of the date though, it's still shocking.

 

[DizBelle]

This is the first I've heard of this too.

What I don't get is why the TSA agents thought the boy could walk through by himself without his braces. If he would walk without them, he WOULDN'T BE WEARING THEM!

What if walking without the braces caused additional damage to the boy's ankles?

What are they going to do next, require a paraplegic to drag themselves through the metal detector on their own? It's just nonsense.

 

[golfgal]

Then if the TSA lets someone through wearing leg braces that are fake and really have concealed weapons and they hijack a plane there will be post after post here on "where was the airport security, why didn't they catch this". You can't have it both ways, sorry.

 

[WL Fan]

Give me a break. Have you ever even seen long legged braces? They're formed pieces of stainess and fitted plastic moldings. What kind of weapon are these handicapped passengers supposed to conceal?

Common sense isn't so common.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Give me a break. Have you ever even seen long legged braces? They're formed pieces of stainess and fitted plastic moldings. What kind of weapon are these handicapped passengers supposed to conceal?

Common sense isn't so common.

Two words - shoe bomber...

 

[Magic Mom]

Then if the TSA lets someone through wearing leg braces that are fake and really have concealed weapons and they hijack a plane there will be post after post here on "where was the airport security, why didn't they catch this". You can't have it both ways, sorry.

There is a wide middle ground between saying "Oh whatever, go on through." and making him take the braces off and walk through without them. Common sense would be to take the family to a private area to have the braces removed and examined or put through the scanner.

 

[FireDancer]

Give me a break. Have you ever even seen long legged braces? They're formed pieces of stainess and fitted plastic moldings. What kind of weapon are these handicapped passengers supposed to conceal?

Common sense isn't so common.

Well, I don't think it is about handicapped passengers concealing weapons. If I want to take down a plane (which I don't of course) I could easily fasion something that could pass as leg braces to conceal a blade of some sort. I don't fault the TSA form doing an inspection or some additional screening, but to try and make someone who has passed screening remove them is over the line.

We need to anticipate all the possibilities and not just reject one because it sounds unlikely. Most attacks were unlikely up until they were tried. There is a line between vigilance and paranoia. Inspecting is vigilant, refusing entry after inspection is just over the top.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

There is a wide middle ground between saying "Oh whatever, go on through." and making him take the braces off and walk through without them. Common sense would be to take the family to a private area to have the braces removed and examined or put through the scanner.

There is - the TSA officer was not properly trained. If I were a betting man, I'd say that he was probably fired over this...