"Annoyance at security hassles has been on the rise among airline crews and passengers for years, but the widespread use of full-body image detectors this year and the simultaneous introduction of more intrusive pat-downs seems to have ramped up the frustration.
As passengers have simmered over being forced to choose scans by full-body image detectors or rigorous pat-downs inspections, some airline pilots are pushing back. Much of the criticism is directed at the Transportation Security Administration.
"I would say that pilots are beyond fed up," said Tom Walsh, a pilot and sometimes aviation security consultant. "The TSA is wasting valuable time and money searching the crew - who are not a threat."
Even one of the nation's most celebrated pilots, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, has detected the growing unease.
"The fundamental reason is that airline pilots are already the last line of defense for anyone who poses a threat to the airplane," said the soft-spoken Sullenberger, who successfully ditched his US Airways plane in the Hudson River last year after it struck birds during takeoff. "We are - and would like to be considered - trusted partners in that important security mission."
The scanners show a body's contours on a computer stationed in a private room removed from the security checkpoints. A person's face is never shown and the person's identity is supposedly not known to the screener reviewing the images. Under TSA rules, those who decline must submit to pat-downs that include checks of the inside of travelers' thighs and buttocks.
Top federal officials said Monday that the procedures are safe and necessary sacrifices to ward off terror attacks."
Flight attendants are in fact the last line of defense--the cockpit door is locked!! And yet, they are ALL subjected to this constant humiliation of these body scanners and pat downs--talk about un-American!!
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