Bucks County Woman Says US Airways Lost Husband’s Ashes

Oh, airline security. Almost always more of a pain than it needs to be—and yes, we say that remembering the terrorist attacks of a dozen years ago. Still, we feel confident in saying this: When security rules end up causing an airline to lose a man’s cremated remains, then the terrorists have won.

That appears to be the story of Angeline O’Grady, a Bucks County woman who is suing US Airways. Reuters reports:

When Angeline O’Grady prepared to board her flight out of Philadelphia International Airport on November 1, 2011, security officials informed her that the remains must be placed in her checked baggage “because its contents was not a solid substance,” according to the lawsuit.

She had U.S. Airways collect her checked bag, then handed over the ashes to a U.S. Airways representative along with the certificate of death. The lawsuit does not expressly say whether or not she witnessed the ashes being placed in her bag.

When she opened her bags in England, the ashes were not there.

“U.S. Airways, rather than Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady has had the last word in determining Mr. O’Grady’s final resting place. He is not at peace,” the lawsuit said.

The sad part is: O’Grady was making the trip to England to scatter her husband’s ashes in the same town where his mother’s ashes had been left. Now? They’re probably sitting on some shelf in the lost-and-found.