Flight crews and the unions representing them are increasingly accusing airlines of subjecting them to more searches than other airport personnel and even passengers. In addition to allegations of unfair targeting of flight crews, the Association of Flight Attendants has complained to airline and government officials that its members---especially females---are being groped and fondled by screeners. In what the Air Line Pilots Association is claiming are acts of retaliation against employees who question the validity of cosmetic security measures, several pilots have been arrested or subjected to psychological evaluations for pointing out the ridiculousness of patting them down for guns and checking their shoes for explosives when they could simply crash their planes.
See "Flight crews say checks unfairly target them", GLEN JOHNSON, The Boston Globe, February 3, 2002