The TSA encourages the public to report suspicious activity. When Connor Islip of the Guardian reviewed communications submitted to the Transportation Safety Administration communication center, he was surprised to find how many air travelers wrote in to report their own security slips:
Of the more than 100 communications reviewed, a large plurality
consists of citizens who, like the woman from Islip, arrive at their
destinations and feel guilty about a security transgression. Few
mention other security threats; when they do, they are largely reports
on the ethnicity of fellow travellers.
One man called in - on the
fifth anniversary of September 11, no less - to report that he "had put
two canisters of propane gas" in his luggage. "He had forgotten that
the canisters were inside the luggage," writes the TSA officer who took
the call. "The consumer discovered the canisters after arriving at
[Oakland], his final destination."
Another man got off a plane
from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale only to "notice that I had with me
three huge bottle rockets and a big firecracker, with some sparklers in
the outside pouch" of his carry-on. [Guardian]
I wonder how many of these public-spirited individuals will get stuck on the no-fly list forever.