FAST FACTS
- TSA and airline employees are accused of stealing items from passenger luggage at Memphis International Airport.
- Passengers are not always reimbursed for the stolen merchandise.
-Two Memphis TSA employees have been fired for stealing from luggage.
Keli.rabon@wreg.com
(Memphis - 7/27/2009) A trip to the airport might seem like your ticket to a getaway, but for some people, it's an easy route to get away with your stuff. Nancy Allen found out first hand.
"They took her iPod, his wallet, my camera equipment, my XD cards," Allen said. Allen is a WREG employee.
Her family's trip to Disneyland was ruined when their flight landed in Memphis and she opened her luggage to find more than $1400 worth of electronics and her family's vacation memories, gone.
"You're going through and you start tearing through everything you've got, saying, let's check this one, let's check this one," Allen said.
Thousands of passengers across the country have similar stories. Once their bags are handed off to Transportation Security Agency officers, sometimes, things disappear.
At Memphis International Airport, here's what thieves have taken: * Medicine totaling more than $2,000 * Laptop computers worth more than $20,000 * Stolen clothing totaling more than $21,000 * Digital cameras valued at more than $22,000 * Jewelry worth more than $94,000
Kevin McCarthy is the Federal Security Director for the Memphis International Airport. He says TSA officers only touch bags for a few minutes, before luggage switches hands again.
"The airline touches it, the TSA touches it, and once we put it on that bag belt, it goes into the airline system, and for the most part, we'll never touch that bag again," McCarthy said.
But during that brief time, someone is looting luggage.
The "On Your Side Investigators" obtained a federal database that reveals just how often the TSA takes the blame. Even then, passengers aren't always compensated.
In the last six years, more than $220,000 in claims were filed. The TSA reimbursed passengers less than $28,000. That leaves about $192,000 worth of valuables, still missing.
"There are a lot of people that have an opportunity to see the bag, and to do something bad," Larry Cox, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority CEO, said.
Cox says, like any other place, theft at the airport is a crime of opportunity.
"Everyday someone takes a car in the City of Memphis, people rob store owners, and people snatch purses. It's unfortunate; crime has become an everyday thing of our lives," Cox said.
So every minute is monitored through hundreds of cameras keeping a close eye on passengers, TSA, and airline employees.
"The operation is being photographed and is available for us to review up to 30 days after an incident," McCarthy said.
But even with all of the electronic eyes in the sky, thieves are able to find the blind-spots.
"We don't have, and don't intend to have, cameras where you can watch every person, every second, every minute of the day," Cox said.
Two TSA employees were fired in 2003 for luggage theft, but that hasn't stopped things from vanishing. TSA has taken responsibility for 142 stolen luggage claims since then.
"There have been cases where it appears to be TSA employees; there've been cases where it appears to be airline employees. A lot of times, you never find out," Cox said.
Allen will never know who broke into her luggage. She says her family lost more than a camera and iPod. They lost trust in the people that were supposed to keep them safe.
"Other things you can replace, but now you have to explain to your children you can't trust everyone. There are bad people out there, and they're not being watched," Allen said.
Keli.rabon@wreg.com
(Memphis - 7/27/2009) A trip to the airport might seem like your ticket to a getaway, but for some people, it's an easy route to get away with your stuff. Nancy Allen found out first hand.
"They took her iPod, his wallet, my camera equipment, my XD cards," Allen said. Allen is a WREG employee.
Her family's trip to Disneyland was ruined when their flight landed in Memphis and she opened her luggage to find more than $1400 worth of electronics and her family's vacation memories, gone.
"You're going through and you start tearing through everything you've got, saying, let's check this one, let's check this one," Allen said.
Thousands of passengers across the country have similar stories. Once their bags are handed off to Transportation Security Agency officers, sometimes, things disappear.
At Memphis International Airport, here's what thieves have taken: * Medicine totaling more than $2,000 * Laptop computers worth more than $20,000 * Stolen clothing totaling more than $21,000 * Digital cameras valued at more than $22,000 * Jewelry worth more than $94,000
Kevin McCarthy is the Federal Security Director for the Memphis International Airport. He says TSA officers only touch bags for a few minutes, before luggage switches hands again.
"The airline touches it, the TSA touches it, and once we put it on that bag belt, it goes into the airline system, and for the most part, we'll never touch that bag again," McCarthy said.
But during that brief time, someone is looting luggage.
The "On Your Side Investigators" obtained a federal database that reveals just how often the TSA takes the blame. Even then, passengers aren't always compensated.
In the last six years, more than $220,000 in claims were filed. The TSA reimbursed passengers less than $28,000. That leaves about $192,000 worth of valuables, still missing.
"There are a lot of people that have an opportunity to see the bag, and to do something bad," Larry Cox, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority CEO, said.
Cox says, like any other place, theft at the airport is a crime of opportunity.
"Everyday someone takes a car in the City of Memphis, people rob store owners, and people snatch purses. It's unfortunate; crime has become an everyday thing of our lives," Cox said.
So every minute is monitored through hundreds of cameras keeping a close eye on passengers, TSA, and airline employees.
"The operation is being photographed and is available for us to review up to 30 days after an incident," McCarthy said.
But even with all of the electronic eyes in the sky, thieves are able to find the blind-spots.
"We don't have, and don't intend to have, cameras where you can watch every person, every second, every minute of the day," Cox said.
Two TSA employees were fired in 2003 for luggage theft, but that hasn't stopped things from vanishing. TSA has taken responsibility for 142 stolen luggage claims since then.
"There have been cases where it appears to be TSA employees; there've been cases where it appears to be airline employees. A lot of times, you never find out," Cox said.
Allen will never know who broke into her luggage. She says her family lost more than a camera and iPod. They lost trust in the people that were supposed to keep them safe.
"Other things you can replace, but now you have to explain to your children you can't trust everyone. There are bad people out there, and they're not being watched," Allen said.
