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.