Comment by bruce511

13 hours ago

To answer the parent question, no not even close.

TSA direct costs, passenger time wasted, flights missed, items confiscated.

All so no bombs on planes. But somehow also no bombs at sports events or music concerts, or on trains or subways, or courthouses or....

So the TSA is either stunningly successful or a complete waste. I'd argue a complete waste, but hey, everyone in a TSA uniform drawing a paycheck us entitled to a different opinion.

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bruce511

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reeredfdfdf  12 hours ago

It's just not bombs that are a danger. You really don't want anyone to set the airplane on fire either, or start shooting people or holes into the fuselage.

AFAIK America has had plenty of shootings, and probably arson attacks too over that time period.

  • bawolff  12 hours ago

    Other then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Northern_Airlines_Flight... how often has anyone ever set fire to a plane (not counting bombs that caused fires). Is there even a single other example.

    I agree on guns, but you can probably deal with that with much lower intensity security.

    • reeredfdfdf  3 hours ago

      A year ago Air Busan Flight 391 burned completely after a single passenger power bank caught fire on the overhead compartment, and crew couldn't extinguish it. If that had happened on a plane that was in middle of an ocean for example, it would have been almost certainly a total loss with everyone dead, or at least ditching into the sea.

      You're right that fortunately there aren't many cases of people causing fires inside airliners on purpose. But that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. When a single power bank can cause catastrophic results like this, I'm glad there's at least some monitoring of what people carry into the airplane in their bags.

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closewith  12 hours ago

> But somehow also no bombs at sports events or music concerts, or on trains or subways, or courthouses or....

Boston marathon? The Madrid train bombings? 7/7? Ariana Grande?

Airport security has been stunningly successful.