Replies

A frequent-flier from California with a 14-inch titanium rod implanted in her right hip told The Post yesterday that she routinely sets off metal detectors around the globe — but the ones at JFK’s Terminal 7 don’t make a beep.

Berna Keiler, 62, a footwear executive from Santa Barbara, saw the potential for disaster when the machines she passed through in the terminal — which handles eight airlines, including British Airways — failed to go off twice last year.

“I think people are in danger,” Keiler said.
BONE TO PICK: Berna Keiler says the titanium rod in her hip has set off alarms at every airport she’s been to — except JFK, where she passed through this metal detector without a beep.

“It shows me that we in the country are living with the idea that we’re taking the appropriate security measures and that, in reality, they’re not working.”

Officials at the Transportation Security Administration insisted the machines had been tested and passed.

But they wouldn’t say whether they were tested specifically for their ability to detect titanium, which is one of the lightest and strongest metals in the world.

“TSA does not discuss how our machines are tested,” spokeswoman Ann Davis said.

snip

Even worse, Keiler said, both times she told guards the alarm didn’t go off, they failed to follow up by scanning her with a wand or other device to determine whether she was carrying a weapon.