If it’s really impossible to miss, maybe it really wasn’t there in the first place? No one saw it except him, and that was after he got to his room and opened his bag. Sounds fishy to me.
I tend to lean toward that scenario.
If it’s really impossible to miss,
Apparently it is possible to miss. There have been numerable studies on this phenomena and it boils down to the way the brain is wired. We see what we are conditioned to see, and block out the noise. Most TSA agents behind the x-ray scanner screen will never see a prohibited item pass through despite the thousands of hours watching hundreds of thousands pieces of luggage pass through, so when it does appear for that unlucky agent, he/she is unlikely to register seeing it.
“If it’s really impossible to miss, maybe it really wasn’t there in the first place? No one saw it except him, and that was after he got to his room and opened his bag. Sounds fishy to me.”
Then I wont tell you about the fixed blade Tanto knife that went through Intercontinental and Denver airports in the bottom of my computer briefcase...
I found it when I was going back home and went through DIA screening. The TSA agent xrayd my bag and and physically inspected it. Its one of the larger three vertical pocket briefcases. He handed my my laptop and briefcase and then the tray holding my keys, cell phone, wallet, watch and belt slid down the belt. Everyone was in a hurry so I tried to scoot down to the end of the conveyor while I gathered all of my cr*p. The TSA screener handed my my briefcase and I tried to put my laptop in but when I put it in the slot it was sticking up about 3 inches too high. I pushed on it and it wouldn’t go down. The interior is black and close fitting and I realized something was in there. Thankfully the entire knife and it’s sheath are also black. So I pulled my laptop out and swept my hand across the bottom of the briefcase. That’s when I felt me Tanto survival blade.
The TSA screener was standing about 2 feet from and looking right at me because I was obviously having problems. Needless to say the pucker factor went through the roof. Thankfully I have a calm disposition and I didn’t grab the knife and pull it out. I just wrinkled my face and mumbled “Stupid briefcase!” grabbed the laptop shoved it in and gathered the rest of my stuff and when to the gate and dealt with it.
This was 3 months post 9-11.
Now my pre-flight routine involves emptying out all of the contents of my bag and repacking. Especially since I use my briefcase as my range bag when I go shooting.
I walked thru the detector at Port Columbus Ohio, and was unintentionally carrying a set of car keys and a knife in my hoodie pouch. They were undetected.