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Gotta Watch: Awkward TSA pat-down moments
A woman avoids a pat-down by wearing her bikini through security at an airport.
April 13th, 2011
11:51 AM ET

Gotta Watch: Awkward TSA pat-down moments

We thought we'd bring you some of our most memorable awkward airport pat-down moments after hearing all the buzz from this video. Here, a 6-year-old is filmed by her parents as she gets the full TSA pat-down treatment at an airport in New Orleans.


'Don't touch my junk' guy - How could we forget this guy? During his airport screening, he protests the pat-down by proclaiming the phrase that is only rivaled by the "Don't Tase me bro" guy.

No pat down for me thanks – This young lady is bent on avoiding a pat-down by wearing a skimpy bikini through airport security.

soundoff (382 Responses)
  1. bronxgal

    I was at a DC airport and they searched a woman holding a chihauha in front of me...I could not believe it! Granted the dog was wearing a coat...but come on!

    April 13, 2011 at 4:53 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  2. Edgar

    I do agree the US needs some some security after working so hard for "getting the love" of other countries around the world, but I also think neither the bosy scans nor the patdowns on children (or anybody for that matter) really work.

    How do the israelies get the flying safety going? Do they also have pats and scans for everybody? I don't think so. And yet they are also one of the favorite targets for terrorists, how they go by?

    April 13, 2011 at 5:00 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  3. Someone

    I don't care who get's a pat down. A moronic terrorist would not think twice about strapping a bomb on their own little kid. I don't understand why anyone would complain. Maybe I'm just not as anal about keeping things in my life private as a bunch of other people are. I don't think there is a perfect system for keeping the air safe, but I would rather have something done that nothing at all. W

    April 13, 2011 at 5:08 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  4. cb

    i wonder if the 6 year old would have even been a story if she wasn't white.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:14 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  5. Mark in Michigan

    All this crap over a big fake fear! The boogy man in a turban. We are such a bunch of
    idiots.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:16 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  6. tee ball

    Maybe in the future all airline travelors should be made to take some sort of pill or knock us out with gas for the whole flight time? Who wants to be awake anyway for the crappy airline food, whining kids kicking your seat, smelly neighbors, mile high neighbors, or obnoxious "listen to my lifes" story neighbors? We could also just awaken happy in our new destination :)

    And in a previous post, I too was drawn to check out the chick in the bikin :) Of course they had to edit it out :(
    Now if she was 300lbs...Lift that muffin please....., now the other one....Talk about a harrassment suit because the person was obese and you could not see CLEARLY under all their rolls!

    April 13, 2011 at 5:19 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  7. peace

    This is what happens when you declare on countries.. You always feel insecure.. You don' know when they will come,how they execute... GO PEACE

    April 13, 2011 at 5:21 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • small dog trucking at myspacedotcom

      good point, if the u.s. wasnt pi$$ing off other countries and would mind its own bussiness, we wouldnt have nearly as much retribution happening. and all we accomplish by invading others is wasting more money we dont have, if we would go in, "pop" osama,kadafie,or whoever is the moron of the day, it would be differnt. instead we waste time, money and make enimies. not smart. and then let foreigners go to flight school. DOH!

      April 13, 2011 at 10:32 pm | Report abuse |
  8. mejazzbo

    Old story. Nothing new here. Not going to get better. Why whine about it over and over and over... FAA and other agencies are unresponsive to the will of the people. Just like the rest of the government. Prescription: Enjoy some mindless TV and eat a cheeseburger. It's the American way.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:28 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  9. dink

    The process has been explained to all and should be expected. What upsets me is TSA's ability to arrest and fine an individual for verbally expressing his shock and distaste about having "his junk" touched. Our enemies have proven their point about America. We claim to be free and at the same time control freedom via "privileges" and not "rights". I am disgusted.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:29 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  10. Tracey

    I swear, people just want something to complain about. These checks are not new, so don't be going in acting surprised because they pertain to you. If you don't want to go through airport security, don't go to the airport.
    They are not "molesting" children. Your little princess's seamstress does a hell of a lot more than that. And lord knows that if someone blew up another plane and they didn't go through these checks, alllllllllll of you would be getting on them for not doing a security check. Move on.
    O an all airport officials do go through screens. They have an employee entrance and they have to be screened by two random officers to make sure that the first isn't corrupt.
    For all the whinning and threats they deal with, they don't even get paid well, but the economy is tough and sometimes you have to take what you can get.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:32 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • Bill

      Wow, what a loyal subject. I bet the king loves you.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:25 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Noble9

    If you pay someone to keep you "safe", they have to either find threats or they have to invent them if they want to keep their jobs. Which do you think the TSA is doing?

    April 13, 2011 at 5:37 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • scotty501

      I liked what Ms Pollard said. People get so bent over everything and they dont have a better solution.

      April 13, 2011 at 5:48 pm | Report abuse |
    • John G.

      The answer to this is to just eliminate the TSA. If you slow down and really think of what this buys us, it's upside is minimal. We will either cause a target rich environment at long security lines or catch hijackers ourselves in flight. It's a false sense of safety they provide, at great cost in coin and dignity.

      I would absolutely fly in a plane with no security in any airport, you would be just as safe as we are right now.

      April 13, 2011 at 5:56 pm | Report abuse |
    • Dwight Stegall

      You are full of hot air. You don't have a clue what is really going on. Parents and smugglers hide contraband in children's underwear. Your kind of post only makes you look foolish. :(

      April 13, 2011 at 6:16 pm | Report abuse |
    • Brian

      First of all to Noble9, the underwear bomber and the shoe bomber were not imaginary threats. The TSA did not pay these idiots to try and blow a plane up so they could keep their jobs.

      Secondly, to John G..sounds like an absurd solution. So no metal detectors, no checking of bags and no security? That is really logical. We will just catch them ourselves on the plane.

      I am not defending the TSA. I think many of them are extremely unprofessional and lack the basic education for the job. One solution is a re-hiring of TSA employees with much higher standards for employment.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:23 pm | Report abuse |
    • RobGinChicago

      Brian:

      TSA had absolutely nothing to do with stoping the Undie-bomber or the Richard Reid, the foot fetish freak, but they sure do stop a whole lot of shampoo and conditioner from attacking split ends.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:31 pm | Report abuse |
    • Bob

      @Dwight, it appears you are the fool. The TSA is not in the business of illegal drug interidiction. Their primary mission is airline safety. I don't recall a case of a aircraft being blown up or crashed from an once of smuggled pot. Perhaps you'd like to see them conduct inspection of smog control emissions on all vehicles traveling thorugh airports also. Moron.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:32 pm | Report abuse |
    • Jim

      Just because someone does not have a better solution does not mean that they have to accept the current solution. There are a lot of bad ideas out there, but that does not mean that we need to implement all of them because they are the only ideas currently out there.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:50 pm | Report abuse |
    • momo 1182

      Umm @ Bob.. TSA IS in fact "in the business of illegal drug interdiction". Retard.

      April 13, 2011 at 7:07 pm | Report abuse |
    • John

      Cut the BS and frisk the ARABS. Stop the diversity BS.

      April 13, 2011 at 7:37 pm | Report abuse |
    • Erik

      Brian, you yourself just proved the point – the TSA utterly failed at catching the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber. It was other passengers who stopped them. The TSA are the same idiots that want to scan pilots to make sure they're not bringing knives, guns or explosives on board, THE PILOTS!! Where's the LOGIC?? Look at the security reviews of Dulles and Newark even years AFTER 9/11 and they average a 40%. In what other realm in America could you survive and continue to be funded with a 40% pass rate? If your dentist was successful 40% of the time, would you keep going? If Midas was proficient in installing your brakes 40% of the time, would you still be walking?

      April 13, 2011 at 8:15 pm | Report abuse |
    • wzrd1

      Oh! THE UNDERWEAR BOMBER! THE SHOE BOMBER! HOW ARE WE GOING TO STOP PEOPLE FROM WEARING HIGH EXPLOSIVE JOCK STRAPS?!
      First, YOU CANNOT GET HIGH EXPLOSIVES HERE IN THE US. You need a special federal license to acquire destructive weapons that has a background investigation that is LITERALLY the same as a Top Secret security clearance.

      BOTH CASES WERE INBOUND to the US. Guess what? The TSA is NOT permitted to do checks overseas, foreign airports are in foreign nations, hence we use foreign security in those airports.
      I can dissect every passenger and put their body parts onto aircraft to go to their destination, wouldn't matter, FOREIGN FLIGHTS INBOUND would have the intact rectal bomber.
      And yes, I said that, the Saudi anti-terrorism minister was attacked by a rectal bomber and was injured.
      Hmmm, I wonder what the TSA's NEXT check will be?

      And the TSA should NOT be randomly searching or searching ALL for drugs, that is a blatant violation of the fourth amendment AND it is outside of their purview. The ONLY time it WOULD be in their purview is IF they find drugs incidental to a normal screening, NOT searching for it.
      Geeze, we're turning this nation into a nation Joe Stalin wanted the USSR to be!

      April 13, 2011 at 8:25 pm | Report abuse |
    • Some Dude

      The TSA has admitted that the underwear bomber would likely have gotten through the new scanners. And he was operating before the scanners were in place. Now, knowing about the scanners, they could shape the explosive to match the contour of the body.

      So in exchange for your loss of privacy you are 0% safer.

      If this massive invasion of our privacy provided a significant increase in security, there would be a debate. But, in this case, the people gain nothing. You children are no safer, just more molested.

      April 13, 2011 at 8:46 pm | Report abuse |
    • dm

      If the US wants to cut spending I think the first place that they should be cutting is the TSA. So one freak rocks an underwear "bomb" and now every man, woman and CHILD has to has to submit to a virtual strip search or be fondled by TSA agents?! Can you say overkill? This is ridiculous and anyone who thinks its just part of life in today's society should rethink giving up their right to privacy, supremely stupid move America!

      April 13, 2011 at 8:55 pm | Report abuse |
    • cadecker

      racial profiling would save 90% of time and money...israel has done it for decades...no problem there...soon the US will have cavity searches .... i bet ya'll cant wait to get a finger or two up the bum

      April 13, 2011 at 10:02 pm | Report abuse |
    • casualreader

      Well, she just wanted to show off her body, which is hot indeed.

      April 13, 2011 at 10:28 pm | Report abuse |
  12. gary whelan

    don't want to be screened don't fly

    as for children why would any think some one willing to blow up a plane full of men women and children won't use a child to carry on their bomb???

    April 13, 2011 at 5:50 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • Dwight Stegall

      That's true but they carry on a lot of other contraband like drugs and money.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:18 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Mark

    All you whiners don't have ANY solutions, so you don't count.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:52 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • wzrd1

      Want a solution? Go back to contractors, rather than wasting my tax dollars on the TSSA. The ONLY reason the 9/11 terrorists got on the planes armed is BECAUSE THE FAA PERMITTED BOX CUTTERS ON AIRPLANES.
      The backscatter scanner was REJECTED BY THE DoD as ineffective.
      In the WAR ZONE, we used a regular magnetometer, baggage x-ray and explosive trace detector to get onto our bases.
      Are you trying to tell me that it is far more dangerous here in the US than in the middle of a war???
      I leave to defend this nation and return to the USSR on steroids! WHAT HAVE YOU COWARDS DONE TO MY COUNTRY?

      April 13, 2011 at 8:28 pm | Report abuse |
    • John

      wzrd1: You're all-cap shouting and calling civilians cowards is doing nothing to assert your case about airport security, but it does effectively demonstrate what a nut-job you are. Yeah, I served in combat operations, too, so don't give me any of that coward junk or, worse, that "What have you done to defend MY country?" garbage. When you stand at the gates of MY country and defend it from real invaders, then I will thank you THEN for defending my country. Killing people in Iraq and that other sand pit half a world away and nearly a decade after 9/11 is not "defending my country. Semper Fi, DB.

      April 13, 2011 at 9:26 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Matthew

    America, land of the free? Home of the brave? Nation of the just? Or just another tyrannical state that treats its citizens like refuse, like sub-human garbage. Got to love our government, doing everything to protect us...from 6 year old girls. The terrorists won. They got us to turn our attention from finding THEM to treating our own citizens like chattle. And what do we do...we just bend over and accept it. "There only doing it for our own good." You people make me sick. Don't give up your liberty to justify this invasion. Say something. Get angry. Vote. Stop letting them (big brother) enslave us in the name of freedom?!?! It makes no sense. Treat everyone like they are in prison, because it will make us all safe?!?! Are we living in the Soviet Union? Cuba? China? I thought this was the United States, the birthplace of modern democracy. I'm ashamed to be an American...

    April 13, 2011 at 5:56 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • Billy

      I am ashamed you are too. Grow up.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:05 pm | Report abuse |
    • Matthew

      And you are an idiot. I want to live in a free society, not in a prison. Apparently you prefer being treated like a convict.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:07 pm | Report abuse |
    • Professor UF

      I I agree completely with you. Enough is enough , but its never enough for the bureaucrats. They'll keep taking more, and giving us less!

      April 13, 2011 at 6:17 pm | Report abuse |
    • J Barnes

      Mr. Matthew.... that the dumbest statement ever written. I am a service member and even I get checked. Why... because terrorist can get my uniform. TSA gives us a minor inconveniences compared to the costly shutdown of our airways not to mention the deaths of Americans if we were successfully attacked again. I am sure you would not have the same stance if you or your family were in a plane that taking over.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:26 pm | Report abuse |
    • makak

      You talk about democracy – India is the largest democracy in the world. They have security EVERYWHERE – and nobody complains. EVERYONE gets patted down at the airport, and they have scanners at every mall or public place. Yes, they still have incidents, but they would have MUCH more if these things were not in place. You will never have 100% security, but at least you can make it more difficult for those who try to hurt us.

      April 13, 2011 at 6:33 pm | Report abuse |
    • John

      "You talk about democracy – India is the largest democracy in the world. They have security everywhere..."

      Nonsense, I've traveled all over India, no security anywhere, no patdowns, they don't even check your tickets on the train, total nonsense.

      April 13, 2011 at 7:15 pm | Report abuse |
  15. JJ

    Don't tase my junk.

    April 13, 2011 at 5:57 pm | Report abuse | Reply
    • THinker

      That makes me want to puke just thinking of it...

      April 13, 2011 at 10:45 pm | Report abuse |
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