Detroit TSA screener compared the boarding pass to my drivers license and let me pass through. The names are obviously different.
On American Airlines flight 1139 from Detroit to Dallas Fort Worth, on March 14, 2012, I was issued a boarding pass for Gerald Eugene Lemmons. At the security check, the TSA screener dutifully check my divers license against the boarding pass and waived be through.
I boarded my flight and took my seat 19B. Shortly thereafter, another gentleman stopped at my row and said, “I think you are in my seat.” Struck with embarrassment that I misread my boarding pass I pulled it out to admit my mistake. We were both surprised that each of us had been issued boarding passes for seat 19B.
He went and discussed it with a flight attendant. She checked my boarding pass, realized it had been issued in the wrong name and tore off the perforated stub. While I made quick joke about the situation, the flight attendant said nothing. Since there was an open seat at the back of the plane, the other passenger 19B and I didn’t have to play Ro! Cham! Beau! to see who remained on the plane. Although, I realized now that I should have asked the name of the other 19B passenger.
Is this Eugene Gerald Lemmons or Kevin Knauss? Detroit TSA doesn't know.
The obvious questions: How were 2 boarding passes for the same seat issued to different passengers on the same flight? How did the trained TSA agent not catch the difference in name? Kevin Verle Knauss is not very similar to Gerald Eugene Lemmons. Was Mr. Lemmons on the flight? Why did my connecting flight boarding pass have my correct name? And the biggest question, how often does this happen?
The chain is only as strong as the weakest link. In the case of airport security with all the high technology bomb sniffing and X-ray machines, the weak link is a human comparing names on printed documents.
I have never been impressed or convinced that all the additional security measures are all that effective. Most of the apparatuses seem like nice government contracts for well connected constituents. I have seen similar government waste at Folsom Lake. The Bureau of Reclamation installed radio controlled, solar powered in-ground pop-up bollards on each side of the three different dykes. I guess to stop the terrorist from driving on the dam.With in two years, if they ever worked right to begin with, they were ripped out an old fashion swing away security gates were installed.
How much did the Bureaus’s boondoggle of a high technology idea cost the tax payer? How much have we spent on futuristic wind tunnels at the airport? Any person with nefarious intentions can walk, run or ride on the levy at Folsom Lake. With my experience at Detroit airport, it looks like any person with nefarious intentions can also get by our securtiy personnel.
Link to my YouTube video on the mystery of the boarding pass.
