TSA Blog
blog.tsa.gov · Company blog · on HN since 2010
The US Transportation Security Administration's official blog, posting about screening rules, travel tips, and responses to criticism of its checkpoints.
What HN saysHN commenters cite it for TSA's own figures on confiscated firearms, its stated photography policy, and its reply to a body scanner video.
41HN people shared it
33linked it in comments
9stories submitted
488story points
10 years agolast shared
2010people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Viral Video About Body Scanners3 people · 448 points · first shared 2012 · 198 comments on HN
- 2TSA 2014 Year in Review3 people · 1 points · first shared 2015 · discussion on HN
- 3The TSA blog3 people · 1 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 4TSA Top Good Catches of 20112 people · 2 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 5Airports who opt out of tsa screening2 people · first shared 2012
- 6Traveling with e readers netbooks and2 people · first shared 2010
- 7Can i take photos at checkpoint and2 people · first shared 2010
- 8More on liquid rules why we do things2 people · first shared 2016
- 970 detection failure rate being2 people · first shared 2012
- 10Can You Fly Without an ID? (2013)1 people · 24 points · first shared 2014 · 47 comments on HN
- 11The TSA Blog: What happens to your prohibited items? (2009)1 people · 7 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 12The TSA Blog: Viral Video About Body Scanners1 people · 2 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 13TSA Taking Nail Clippers from Soldiers? - Nail Clipper Myth Buster1 people · 2 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 14TSA Blog Year in Review: 20131 people · 1 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 15Enhanced pat downs1 people · first shared 2010
What HN people wrote when they linked it
Nadya · 2015-12-22
It's effectively zero, so yes. Taking the gun statistic in their blog [0]. Let's say they prevented a total of 5,000 noteworthy things ( that includes their gun statistic). I think that's a reasonable estimate given their figures.
0.000007656967% of the time they did something. In reality it's half of that. In reality of actual danger being present it's even lower than half of that. I'm talking near 7.6e^-8 in rarity.
The odds of being stuck by lightning is higher than the TSA ensuring anyone's safety.
[0] http://blog.tsa.gov/2015/01/tsa-2014-year-in-review.html
tinalumfoil · 2014-08-26
Yet the TSA manages to find weapons all the time. On their blog [0], over the last 4 weeks, they claim to have confiscated 156 firearms from security checks. Even if 99% forgot they were carrying a weapon and accidentally brought it on the plane that's still 1-2 planes with a malicious guy carrying a gun every month.
[0] http://blog.tsa.gov/
DanBC · 2013-10-13
> The thought of someone trying to stuff some of these items into a duffel bag was hilarious as well as the idea that someone felt it necessary to warn people about these prohibited items.
Did you say "oh wow, I was laughing at that poster because who needs to be told not to bring a machete onto a plane?"
Because people try to take loaded handguns onto planes. (30 this week, 13 with chambered rounds) (http://blog.tsa.gov/) See also the meat cleaver.
willismichael · 2013-06-06
http://tsaoutofourpants.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/1b-of-nude-body-scann…
and the TSA's response:
http://blog.tsa.gov/2012/03/viral-video-about-body-scanners.html
Draw your own conclusions.
culturestate · 2012-09-28
I know you're joking, but it's actually stated TSA policy[1] to allow photography of checkpoints. Whether that policy is followed, however...
1. http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/03/can-i-take-photos-at-checkpoint-and.html
logfromblammo · 2017-03-22
In some airports, your technology will even be removed from your luggage by a helpful and diligent TSA or airline employee, and they will take it back to their own home for a very thorough functional check that may take years to complete.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2008/02/tsa-our-officers-public-and-theft.html
CNN, Chicago Tribune, and ABC News ran a few stories about this "extra-special luggage screening" around 3-5 years ago, which I won't link because of autoplaying videos and/or slideshows.
stevenwoo · 2017-03-20
The rationale for water restrictions seems OK to me on the face of it. It's a PIA for traveling.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2008/02/more-on-liquid-rules-why-we-do-things.html
balls187 · 2015-12-22
Not an exhaustive search, but there doesn't seem to be a definitive source that explains that all machines have been replaced, however the TSA has laid out the timetable for June 1, 2013, and that all machines were to be removed by Rapidscan at their own expense.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/01/rapiscan-backscatter-contract.html
smtddr · 2014-09-15
To add to this reply... http://blog.tsa.gov/2011/06/tsa-cancer-cluster-myth-buster.html
Q: Why aren’t your officers permitted to wear dosimeters?
A: There is a really good reason for this. The emissions from our X-ray technology are well below the requirements that would require their routine usage. To help reassure passengers and employees that the technology is safe, however, health physicists with the U.S. Army have been conducting area dosimeter surveys at multiple airports nationwide.
Sounds like nonsense to me... at the least, I'd like to see the resulting data from those surveys posted online and kept up to date so the public can see it.
bitJericho · 2014-09-05
Batteries above a certain capacity are not allowed.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/06/travel-tips-tuesday-safely-packing.html
dlss · 2014-08-25
from their blog: http://blog.tsa.gov/2014/01/tsa-travel-tips-tuesday-traveling-with.htm…
Yep. You can bring two 1.7 oz glass bottles with you to the airport (in case you have a specific shape or kind of glass you'd like).
dh0913 · 2013-12-31
Technically SFO is one of the very few airports (and the largest one I believe) that contracts out its airport security to a private company. The company and its operations are regulated by TSA, and for all practical purposes offers the same experience as any other airport, but the people who look at your bags and such are not TSA employees.
See: http://www.flysfo.com/about-sfo/safety-security and http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/11/airports-who-opt-out-of-tsa-screening.html
rhizome · 2013-10-17
But couldn't it be argued that the use of body-scanners functions as a form of strong deterrent for potential plots?
No, because there have been attempts that the scanners have not caught, and were thwarted not by the TSA, nor any government agency, but by other passengers. Know thy history, I'm not even accounting for the white-hat tests that the TSA has soundly failed.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/8/tsa-fails-undercover-in…
http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/12/70-detection-failure-rate-being.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-scanners-repeatedly-fail-to-detect-han…
UnoriginalGuy · 2013-04-15
Here is TSA's own blog saying nail clippers are allowed:
http://blog.tsa.gov/2008/01/lighters-nail-clippers-and-lithium.html
http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/05/tsa-urban-legends-nail-clippers.html
http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/12/tsa-response-to-claim-that-nail.html
http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/12/updated-tsa-response-to-claim-that-nail.ht…
bgrainger · 2013-03-31
I found it interesting to read the comments on the blog post where the TSA announced they would stop confiscating pocketknives (effective April 25): http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/03/small-pocket-knives-more-support-than.html
Instead of celebrating this as a victory for common sense, many commenters argued against the change, claiming it would make flights less safe (or at least feel less safe). I think these people are representative of a significant fraction of the population who think the TSA's work is both necessary and effective, and would oppose limiting it any further.
nl · 2012-04-07
if they stopped an actual weapon they would certainly do a full press release about it
It's so common they don't even bother doing a press release anymore. Sometimes they write about interesting finds on their blog:
"Over 1,200 firearms were discovered at TSA checkpoints across the nation in 2011. Many guns are found loaded with rounds in the chamber. Most passengers simply state they forgot they had a gun in their bag."
"Small chunks of C4 explosives were found in passenger’s checked luggage in Yuma (YUM). Believe it or not, he was brining it home to show his family."
http://blog.tsa.gov/2012/01/tsa-top-10-good-catches-of-2011.html
Not convinced this really makes travel safer, but they do find a lot of stuff...
vgnet · 2012-03-25
TSA has a recent blog post[1] about how that is a myth, where people keep mentioning that it has happened before (maybe not to armed soldiers).
[1] http://blog.tsa.gov/2012/03/tsa-taking-nail-clippers-from-soldiers.htm…
grecy · 2012-03-11
Be sure to read the TSA's official response on their blog. [1] The comments there are priceless.
[1]http://blog.tsa.gov/2012/03/viral-video-about-body-scanners.html
Maxious · 2012-03-08
"Imaging technology has been extremely effective in the field"
Isn't it 30% effective in auditor tests.... oh wait you have a post that claims 30% is inaccurate but doesn't actually disprove the figure or provide accurate figures: http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/12/70-detection-failure-rate-being.html
ryanwhitney · 2012-03-07
When you opt out you're required to get a pat down though, correct?
src: http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/11/opting-out-of-advanced-imaging.html
bri3d · 2012-02-15
Never. The author of the article doesn't understand how "opting-out of the TSA" works. Opting out of the TSA just means that your agents are hired through a private agency. The TSA still regulates them, sets their policy, and determines what screening devices are in use.
Airports using private agents will not be distinguishable from airports using TSA agents until the law changes, just as how SFO is indistinguishable from any other airport now.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/11/airports-who-opt-out-of-tsa-screening.html
kyrai · 2010-11-23
The whole TSA taking the child story apparently was half way made up.. at least according to the TSA. http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/10/response-to-tsa-agents-took-my-son.html
macrael · 2010-11-17
To be clear: these images came from the US Marshals Service scanning people entering a courthouse in Florida, not from the TSA. The TSA maintains that their machines are unable to store images: http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/08/tsa-response-to-feds-admit-storing.html
These images were not leaked or snuck out by an employee or anything, they were acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request.
I think the TSA's scanners are an unjustifiable invasion of privacy, but I think that people should make their arguments with the facts. This article is shamelessly caching in on people's outrage without really adding much to the discussion.
The US Marshals' statement on the subject: http://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2010/080510a.htm
credo · 2010-11-15
The TSA policy concerns me.
The only silver lining I see is that they may be responsive to the public outcry and figure out a better way to screen people. Perhaps, we should get the Israelis to train our TSA folks
http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/08/enhanced-pat-downs.html offers one reason to be optimistic. A number of critical comments talk about "molesting", "groping", "assault" etc. and these comments haven't been censored. The fact that the govt is permitting an open discussion may well mean that they'll take all the feedback into consideration.
djacobs · 2010-11-09
The TSA begs to differ:
http://blog.tsa.gov/2009_03_01_archive.html
follower · 2010-11-08
From that page (compare to the image):
"These images are friendly enough to post in a preschool. Heck, it could even make the cover of Reader’s Digest and not offend anybody." -- http://blog.tsa.gov/2008/04/first-significant-deployment-of.html
Wow, I can't believe they actually said that.
janoulle · 2010-10-31
One of your main points (terahertz radiation) does not appear to be correct. See this blogpost from the TSA: http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/11/response-to-oops-backscatter-x-ray.html which, in a nutshell, reiterates:
"TSA has not tested nor procured any terahertz AIT systems."
ljf · 2010-10-31
tlrobinson · 2010-10-31
Try: "No, it's a net book"
http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/04/traveling-with-e-readers-netbooks-and.html