TSA Agent Opens And Spills Grandpa's Ashes, Laughs

[Theophylact]

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man's attempt to bring the ashes of his grandfather home to Indianapolis ended with an angry scene in a Florida airport, with the ashes spilled on the terminal floor.

John Gross, a resident of Indianapolis' south side, was leaving Florida with the remains of his grandfather -- Mario Mark Marcaletti, a Sicilian immigrant who worked for the Penn Central Railroad in central Indiana -- in a tightly sealed jar marked "Human Remains."

Gross said he didn't think he'd have a problem, until he ran into a TSA agent at the Orlando airport.

"They opened up my bag, and I told them, 'Please, be careful. These are my grandpa's ashes,'" Gross told RTV6's Norman Cox. "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."

Gross says about a quarter to a third of the contents spilled on the floor, leaving him frantically trying to gather up as much as he could while anxious passengers waited behind him.

"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."

TSA rules say a crematory container in carry-on baggage must pass through the X-ray machine at the security checkpoint.

But the agency's own website says human remains are to be opened under, “no circumstances.”

"I want an apology,” said Gross. “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."

[Steve R Jones]

Read that earlier...Sucks to be the TSA agent.

[GroundZero3]

And it continues

[Chuckiechan]

That is a problem with the fed's. Everyone is basically "deputized", and you Mr. Peon, can do nothing about it.

Too many times I've had to listen to some loud mouth bitch telling everyone in line "how it was gonna be", to get through the security line... Then get re checked by someone who doesn't speak enough English to get the job done without creating great angst in me.

What a mess.

The cremains are a perfect example of TSA not giving a crap about the passengers' rights and responsibilities.

[tony_j15]

But at least we're all safe and secure from terrorists attacks.

[Theophylact]

But at least we're all safe and secure from terrorists attacks.

Not so. Now that the terrorists know that human remains are to be opened under "no circumstances", they're the perfect vehicle for explosives. So the TSA rule will become: "Human remains are to be opened under all circumstances".

[tony_j15]

Zounds!

I propose everyone be stripped bare, undergo full cavity searches, and then placed in restraints and sedated for the entirety of their trip. Surely that will keep us safe from these horrible terrorists.

[Theophylact]

Zounds!

I propose everyone be stripped bare, undergo full cavity searches, and then placed in restraints and sedated for the entirety of their trip. Surely that will keep us safe from these horrible terrorists.

I wouldn't mind the "sedated" part. Air travel has become pretty damned unpleasant.

[The Real Bingo]

So why do we have fancy, expensive x-ray machines if they're not going to use them?

[pickel]

"So she opened it up. She used her finger and was sifting through it. And then she accidentally spilled it."
Bitch!!!!!!!!!!

[Taxmancometh]

TSA=Joke!

There are countless stories of this crap.

[Whir]

She started laughing? Either this story is broken, or that is one maladjusted woman.

F it man, I'm gonna go be a TSA agent. I'll get to pat down cute girls and wield my power like a GOD!