US woman, protesting TSA pat-downs, confronts security in bra and panties

WASHINGTON - An elderly woman in America tried to clear security at the Will Rogers World Airport by wearing only her bra and panties.ccording to the Oklahoman, Tammy Banovac, 52, a retired surgeon who uses a wheelchair, wore a trench coat when she arrived, but disrobed when it came time to go through security.

Banovac appeared in a bra and panties, clutching a small, white pooch, and the incident was captured by a fellow flier and posted on YouTube.

She claims she chose the more than half-naked approach because she had previously had an unpleasant “hands-on” experience at the airport.

She says that typically she is hand-searched because she uses a wheelchair, however, she feels violated due to the more invasive searches that have recently been employed.

“If it happened anywhere else, it would have been sexual assault,” CBS News quoted Banovac as saying.

Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said Banovac refused to go through the metal detector after she had stripped down on her own, and that’s why she was once again subjected to a search that included the pat down.

When TSA agents investigated, they say they found traces of nitrate residue on her body, which Carney said could be from medication, or from hunting, among other fairly common things.

After more than an hour of hand searches and questioning, Banovac missed her flight to Phoenix, and a TSA supervisor told her to leave the airport and “come back tomorrow”.

Banovac returned to the airport the next morning, where she once again confronted security in only a bra and panties. But this time she was allowed to board her flight - after putting on a shirt. (ANI)