TSA spills human remains at checkpoint, laughs instead of apologizing
A man returning to his home in Indianapolis from Florida with his grandfather’s ashes says a Transportation Security Administration agent not only opened the jar containing the remains, but then proceeded to root around in them and spill some on the floor. He was even more shocked when she laughed at him as he tried to scoop up what had spilled.
Ashes in an urn are disturbing by TSA, if they travel in an urn like this one. An Indiana man was not so lucky and now seeks an apology from TSA Photo/Daniel Greef via wikimedia commons
According to RTV6 News, John Gross tightly sealed jar marked “Human Remains” and was going through security at the Orlando airport when an agent found the jar.
“They opened up my bag, and I told them, ‘Please, be careful. These are my grandpa’s ashes,'” Gross told the station. “She picked up the jar. She opened it up. I was told later on that she had no right to even open it, that they could have used other devices, like an X-ray machine. So she opened it up. She used her finger and was sifting through it. And then she accidentally spilled it.”
TSA rules say human remains in crematory containers must pass through the X-ray machine at the security checkpoint, and “under no circumstances will an officer open the container even if the passenger requests this be done.”
Gross claims a quarter to a third of the remains spilled onto the airport floor. He raced to clean up the “mess” as the situation went from bad to worse.
“She didn’t apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn’t pick up all, everything that was lost. I mean, there was a long line behind me.”
The man just wants the TSA to apologize now, especially the agent he had the encounter with.
“I want an apology,” he said. “I want an apology from TSA. I want an apology from the lady who opened the jar and laughed at me. I want them to help me understand where they get off treating people like this.”
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