Grandmother puts infant through L.A. airport X-ray

LOS ANGELES — A woman going through security at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) put her month-old grandson into a plastic bin intended for carry-on items and slid it into an X-ray machine.

The early Saturday accident — bizarre but not unprecedented — caught airport workers by surprise, even though the security line was not busy at the time, officials said.

A screener watching the machine's monitor immediately noticed the outline of a baby and pulled the bin backward on the conveyor belt. The infant was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined he did not receive a dangerous dose of radiation.

Aviation officials, who declined to release the 56-year-old woman's name, said she spoke Spanish and apparently did not understand English. She initially did not want the baby transported to a hospital, but security officials insisted that the child be examined by a doctor.

The grandmother and the child subsequently were allowed to board an Alaska Airlines flight to Mexico City.

Security experts said the incident underscored a more widespread concern about the screening process at LAX and other airports.

"The screeners are still reporting that they're being pushed," said Brian Sullivan, a retired Federal Aviation Administration security agent. "If a baby can get through, what the hell else can get through?"

Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which manages LAX screeners, said the agency does not have enough workers to constantly stand at tables in front of the screeners to coach passengers on what should or should not be placed through X-ray machines.

In some cases, however, airlines contract with private companies to staff the tables and assist travelers. The TSA also occasionally puts employees at the tables if extra workers are available.

"There's an obligation on the traveler to use some common sense," said Larry Fetters, the TSA's federal security director at LAX. "If they don't understand, they should ask somebody. If they ask us, we are generally able to find someone who speaks that language and assist them."

On its Web site, the TSA posts extensive tips for travelers, including a section titled "Traveling With Children." Listed among the items is a sentence that reads: "Never leave babies in an infant carrier while it goes through the X-ray machine."