JFK Metal Detectors Fail To Spot Woman's Titanium Hip

Titanium is a non-ferrous metal. It's less-likely to set off detectors because there either needs to be more of it to get a reaction, or the detector needs to be set higher -- the downside being that more zippers and watches and necklaces would set them off. I have titanium in my ankle (plate and five screws) from a 2004 surgery (never, ever hurry down the stairs folks) and I have never set off a detector. My guess is that (a) this woman's bone grew around the titanium (as mentioned above) or (b) detection technology has improved or (c) detectors aren't turned up as high as they used to be ... or any combination of any of the above. One thing I have also heard is that the level of detection for the walk-through machines is turned down closer to the floor since many airports' floors are reinforced with steel. This may be why they make us remove our shoes now and just send 'em through the x-ray.

This story is pure non-investigated sensationalist bullshit, piggybacking cynically on the failed Detroit-bound Christmas bomber asshole. All any of the kneejerks on this board, or the Post reporter, or Gothamist had to do was Google "titanium" and "metal detectors" to see that this isn't a simple issue.

I think we should return airport security to those blissful, pre-9/11 levels ... while instituting a new policy: all terrorists who don't succeed and are beaten into submission by airline passengers will be immediately flown to New York, stripped down to his undies and be made to dance in Times Square, a la Naked Cowboy, for the remainder of his natural life. He will be well-fed and housed, in order to ensure he lives a long and utterly miserable life.

Maybe I'm taking crazy pills: Now that it's out in the open that our metal detectors don't catch titanium, isn't that a problem? Couldn't terrorists use that info to bring titanium weapons or try to construct a bomb using titanium parts?

Your scientific explanation is a welcome addition, I just disagree with your characterization of the post as knee-jerk (pun intended?). It may not be a "simple issue," but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be addressed. Again, am I taking crazy pills here?

Sounds like good news, since it's just a waste of time and a distraction if the metal detectors flag a titanium rod in someone's leg. Why did it take them so long to get the things tuned correctly?

if she had the titanium rod put in awhile ago bone has grown around it which is why it did not set off the detector. When I broke my femur 10 years ago i had a titanium rod put in along with a whole bunch of screws/pins in my hip and knee. For the first couple of years i traveled with a note from my doctor to explain why i was setting the detectors off. As time passed i realized that sometimes i did set it off, but others didn't. I have not set one off in over 5 years. I have been through over 50 airport along with countless office buildings and courthouses that require visitors to walk through a metal detector in that time.

SSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're going to anger the fearful!

If this is true, then it certainly tones down the concern I have about the situation. But I want to point out that concern which leads to reasonable, prudent action is not the same as fear or panic.

I was at JFK on Labor Day weekend of 2008. When we arrived we were shocked to find the security line wrapped all the way around the front part of the terminal. The worst part was, the line wasn't moving. At all. We finally heard through the line-grapevine that the metal detectors weren't working, so they had to scan everyone by hand with the wands.

Then, suddenly, the line started moving fast. When we finally got to the lone open security checkpoint (I mean really, who needs more than one on a holiday weekend?) we asked what had happened. The id-checker guy told us that somehow the machines had gotten unplugged, and nobody realized it and they thought they were broken.

That is when I realized that we're fucked.

fear is the new black.

*goes back to bed*

was she at the State dinner at the White House too?

You have to be fake hip to do that. Having a fake hip gets you bounced.

You're en fuego today!

My father once got shaken down at the WTC because of his fake hip. I had to keep shouting at the guard "He has a fake hip!!!" That's when that sort of thing was still slightly amusing.

great so now we have to worry about terminators boarding planes

only john connor needs to worry about terminators boarding planes.

touché

i've gone through jfk scanners with a lighter on several occasions.

Not surprising at all if you're talking about a typical disposable lighter, since they contain almost no metal.

What bothers me is that this same women would think a full body scanner is an invasion of privacy.

It is.

What does this matter? In the US, 40,000 people die in car accidents each year, many of which are preventable. Several thousand people die of flu, many die of infections that are preventable with better handwashing.

And I'm supposed to be worried about a metal hip signifying some real danger of hijacking? How many people die due to highjackings each year? It's a serious question. And the answer leads to an important conclusion: For the vast majority of humans on this planet there is near zero danger from hijackings.

Get some perspective and refuse to be terrorized.

I appreciate your point about refusing to be terrorized. There is, however, a distinction between being terrorized and acting prudently on information. I don't think that this story should cause a wave of panic; quite to the contrary, this story should lead to an independent investigation of the TSA and security procedures in general.

To be whipped into a state of fear (terror) by government officials with ulterior motives is certainly not desirable. But it's no more desirable to brush off a security issue like this without prudently addressing and correcting it, closing the loophole. Fear and Apathy are not your only options; let's be aware of our weaknesses and responsibly address them in a cool-headed manner.

When I was flying over the holidays, we passed through a metal detector at the Quad City International Airport (MLI). After gathering our stuff, TSA realized that the metal detector wasn't working at all. So TSA decided to wand everyone that was still gathering their belongings. This included a couple traveling with two small children and us (my carry on was scanned for traces of bomb making chemicals).

They didn't bother to try to find the three other people that passed through security after us and before they realized the metal detector was broken.

Sure, Moline isn't exactly a huge airport, but who knows what those other people could have been carrying.

I miss the peanut butter ice cream at Whitey's in Bettendorf. Yummo.

Or maybe it was in Davenport. I can't remember since we had to run from Bettendorf middle to get it. :-|

Lock her up, she's a terrorist.

Ask any pot smoker how easy it is to smuggle things on a plane.

Now we're going to get worried about the lack of a false alarm? When she shoves a titanium bomb up her ass then call me.

You could probably rip off her leg and use it on the first tee at Bethpage.

If someone lit up a stogie under your smoke detector, and it didn't go off, would you check the battery?

Your comment succeeds at being flippant, but ultimately fails. If a METAL DETECTOR at a highly trafficked airport in NYC can't DETECT a 14 inch piece of METAL, that is the definition of "worrisome." If it misses titanium, what other types of metal does it miss?

The real gem in this story is the way that she keeps trying to warn the TSA about this, but they keep blowing her off. Perhaps now that it's in the media it will get addressed; perhaps not. But this is emblematic of America right now: people are rabid for better security, but the government doesn't seem to offer more than the illusion of security. And this illusory security comes at the expense of actual liberty and time. Interesting trade-off...

It's only worrisome in terms of wasted money, not in terms of safety.

Are you really worried about safety from weapons on board a plane? Why? There is nearly zero chance of that mattering at all.

Who's talking about weapons you moron? Have you ever heard of a device that explodes? It's called a bomb. They're one of the big reasons metal detectors are used in security. Sometimes, when bombs explode, people get killed and it winds up in the news. Or winds up changing the course of American history irrevocably.

But yeah, what do I have to be concerned about?

Metal detectors detect metal (knives, guns,etc) not bombs or explosive materials, explosives are not made of metal and bombs do not need to contain any metal parts.

What a misleading thing to say! I realize that not all bombs contain metal. I am also aware that metal detectors do not detect explosive material. But if JFK metal detectors can't detect metal, then a bomb IS indeed more likely to get onto a plane. Not everyone who travels through JFK is swabbed or checked in any way for explosives. Therefore, the metal detectors might be TSA's only opportunity to catch a bomb with metal components being carried by an otherwise unsuspicious person. If the bomb has no metal components, it may indeed get through, unfortunately. But it's hogwash to suggest that faulty metal detectors don't increase the likelihood of a bomb getting through: they absolutely do, and this is absolutely a major issue to be addressed.

"if JFK metal detectors can't detect metal"

"Do not detect a titanium rod implanted in bone" is not the same as "can not detect metal."

When I made that comment, it was before there was any mention of this allegation that bone blocks detection of metal in airport metal detectors. If that is in fact true, then my comments lose some of their relevance, to be sure. Anyone with a scientific background know whether this bone/xray thing is actually true?

"When I made that comment, it was before there was any mention of this allegation that bone blocks detection of metal in airport metal detectors"

Doesn't really matter, it was still a titanium rod inside her leg. That is, most certainly not a threat to anyone.

I'd contend that not activating in the case of what would have been a "false positive" isn't any kind of failure; rather it's a sign of a system operating properly.

You and jt10000 should check this out: http://gothamist.com/2010/01/07/jfk_metal_detectors_really_dont_pic.php

I don't think you know much about security, and your grasp of logic seems to be tenuous at best. I have no desire to explain to you what is wrong with your most recent comment. Peace.

Actually, your comment succeeds in making mine rather successful.

I don't get that, but I disagree with it on principle.

The principle of the sacred Gothamist commenting area?

The government's actually doing an OK job on security. There are lots of kooks who want to kill us, yet planes aren't blowing up, bombs aren't going off in the streets and even the subways have been attack-free since 9/11. And the murder rate in NYC is the lowest it's been in my lifetime. I feel pretty safe considering what a crazy world we live in.

I'm not trying to make you feel unsafe, just pointing out that the "security" procedures are swiss cheese: many of them are useless measures, but even the useful measures are applied in such an inconsistent manner that they are hardly effective. Anyhow, your appraisal of the security our government provides seems ignorant to me.

I would ascribe the relative domestic quiet of the years since the Anthrax attacks and 9/11 less to our security procedures and more to vigilant citizens and an Al-Qaeda that (at the time) was nowhere near as powerful as it was portrayed to be by the Bush Admin.

How about we start investing more in high speed trains than air travel?

And when a high speed train gets blown up by terrorists what then? Just keep cowering till we're back to horse drawn carriages? Or maybe camels, now that would be poetic.

Then we'll get even more mad, but at least you cant FLY THEM INTO BUILDINGS.

Fucking 'tard.

After global warming we will need camels.

They're not looking for Bernas.