Scanner Loses Belongings

July 18, 2009

in Airport Stories

Going through security in the Orlando airport and running late as usual, I placed a satchel containing reading material into a plastic tray for x-ray scanning; the top of the satchel was below the top of the tray. On top of the satchel I placed my eyeglasses, watch and car keys. I cleared the body scanner, then went to collect my scanned belongings. Suddenly the person behind me said that he saw some of my belongings drop from the conveyor belt as it exits the scanner onto the floor. I then noticed that my eyeglasses, watch and car keys were missing from the tray!

I hunted for the items on the floor underneath the scanner but had difficulty finding them as I didn’t have my glasses on. A security guy helped me look for half a minute then said I could look for the items myself. I finally found my glasses, put them on, located my keys, but couldn’t find my watch. Eventually I found my watch, undamaged, lodged in the roller conveyor. Ever since I’ve placed my personal items in a separate tray.

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

GottaLoveIt July 19, 2009 at 8:52 am

Picking stuff up off the floor? Wow. You poor dear. It's amazing that you even survived.

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SAW July 19, 2009 at 4:57 pm

Re-title : "Passenger discovers common sense"

THAT is why they have two kinds of trays – one for small items, and a different kind for big ones.

Oh – and your glasses alone won't set off a metal detector – there's no reason to take them off. I never remove mine, and I never set off the machines. I've also never had TSA even suggest to me that I remove them.

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Jodi July 20, 2009 at 5:41 am

Okay how is this a flight from hell??

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Demotage August 3, 2009 at 5:34 pm

You know….I've submitted true stories to this site…..stories about cabin depressureization, stories about near mid-Air collisions, and my plane being struck by lightning (same flight). I've submitted stories about malfunctioning landing gear and perceived near- death experiences….all true stories…….and not ONE of them had appeared. Yet, we have stories of people having to search for their glasses. What is wrong with this picture?

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Atari August 4, 2009 at 8:24 pm

Wait, Demotage: Your stories did not 'appear'?

They sound like genuinely entertaining anecdotes. What do you mean, '. . . not one of them had appeared'?

They are not, even now, on the website? Is there some kind of review process?

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Demotage August 4, 2009 at 9:58 pm

They are, not even now, 2-3 months after submission, on this website. Not one if them. I submitted them through the submission window. I just today resubmitted one of them by email. Maybe they just have a huge backlog, I don't know because there is no feedback and the blurb about how long it takes, is vague.

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Gregg - admin August 6, 2009 at 12:45 am

As Demotage suggested, there is a big backlog of stories.

Everyone’s patience is requested; stories are generally submitted in the order in which they’re received. Keep your eyes peeled for your story, and in the meantime enjoy the stories of others. Please feel free to inquire about your submittal.

We’ll soon be posting a couple of stories a day, just as soon as the site is updated – keep your eyes peeled for that development as well!

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Atari August 8, 2009 at 3:41 am

I’ll be waiting for that, Mr. Gregg.

I think the last time I checked this site was a couple of months ago, and having checked it a couple of days ago, I found that only – I think – two stories were added.

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Gregg - admin August 8, 2009 at 10:35 am

Not so, Atari. An average of one story a day has been posted ever since CNN’s article on 4/2/09 about the Mr. Poopy Pants story (‘Mr. Poopy Pants’ and fees frustrate flyers) resulted in hundreds of story submissions. There are currently 323 stories, 17 features, 12 commentaries, and nearly 4,000 comments (many of them from you!) on the website.

Speaking of stories, be sure to check out one written by Demotage that was posted the other day – “Landing Gear Causes Consternation” – in the Plane & Weather category.

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Atari August 12, 2009 at 7:51 pm

Are you sure? I was in the 'New Stories' section (or what ever it is called) and after reading a couple of stories I had theretofore not read, I began feeling familiarity from some of them, and several I knew I had read, previously.

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Atari August 12, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Oh, wait. I believe that, after I clicked the first story, I began reading the entire category, rather than backing up to the 'Latest Stories' section.

Reply

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