The minute Scott Karambis passed through security on his way out of Logan Airport in Boston he realized his new video iPod was still onboard the Midwest Airlines plane.

"It was one of those endless days," said Mr. Karambis, an advertising executive from Beverly Farms, Mass. "The plane was delayed, and I was half asleep, and I just didn't keep my things together."

For anyone who travels, the loss of personal belongings can be frustrating and painful. And it is becoming more common, as gadgets become smaller and the list of essential business travel tools becomes longer.

"That's a trend that we've seen coming for a while," said Robert Egner, a vice president at Pointsec, a Chicago-based data security firm. "The smaller they get, the more frequently they flip away."

A spokeswoman for Continental Airlines said the most common items left on board were iPods, eyeglasses and cellphones, followed by portable DVD players.

It is not hard to figure out why people forget things on business trips. Sleep deprivation, hunger and lack of concentration can all affect memory. Travel-related losses fall under the category of absent-mindedness, said Daniel L. Schacter, a Harvard University psychology professor and author of The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers.

He suggests travelers develop a systematic approach. "Each time you move from one location to another, review the status of your belongings. Maybe even keep a checklist."

If you remember you left an item on a plane while you are on your way out of the airport in the United States, do not expect to be able to turn around and retrieve it. A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said that once travelers passed beyond secure checkpoint areas into public areas they were not allowed to return. The TSA does allow passengers who have not passed out of security to return to the aircraft with airline personnel to retrieve items.

Returning lost property appears to be far down the list of priorities at most airlines, judging by the lack of information at airline Web sites. Some airlines, like American, offer phone numbers for airports and local ticket desks; others, like US Airways, have an online form to complete.

Mr. Karambis never recovered his iPod. He was unable to return to his airplane once he exited through the checkpoints, and was frustrated by the customer service provided by both the airport and airline.

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