Airline security is an extremely important issue not only to passengers but also to the entire aviation industry. Numerous deficiencies were highlighted post 9/11 and security was duly tightened with new reforms promptly instituted. However, recent studies indicate that security remains lax, with airports still vulnerable to large-scale attacks.
Late last year, a three-month test bed was established at the request of Congress to ascertain susceptibility to suicide bombers in airports. The Government Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, conducted the investigation, performing several test scenarios or security breaches to adequately determine the level of readiness in US airports. Federal agents carried the bomb materials into the airports. Materials utilized for testing were cheap and easily available using recipes from open sources easily acquired over the Internet. Agents purchased chemicals and related materials over the counter. The results from tests in 21 airports across the country were so alarming that the GAO report was immediately classified.
NBC News, citing government sources, stated that the report concluded, “In all 21 airports tested, no machine, no swab, no screener anywhere stopped the bomb materials from getting through. Even when investigators deliberately triggered extra screening of bags, no one stopped these materials?.
Many critics of TSA and DHS have issued poignant statements expressing their beliefs that the federal government has made little progress in securing airports since 9/11 considering the enormous sums of money that have been allocated to harden potential terrorist targets such as airports.
Tom Kean, former chairman of the 9/11 Commission, stated emphatically, “I’m appalled”, “I’m dismayed and, yes, to a degree, it does surprise me. Because I thought the Department of Homeland Security was making some progress on this, and evidently they’re not.”
Lee Hamilton, former vice chair of the 9/11 Commission, told reporters that he believed the American air traveler has the right to be informed of the findings due to the tremendous failures of the various airports. NBC News, who was briefed on the findings, has declined to reveal any of the ingredients that the 21 airports tested for, citing security reasons.
However, to illustrate the gravity of the issue, NBC News spoke to a bomb technician and asked him to gather the same materials used in the tests to determine the potential explosive power. The device was small enough to fit into the palm of one hand; however, the device possessed enough explosive power to blow a car’s trunk apart. NBC News then consulted Leo West, a former FBI bomb expert, and notified him of their findings. “Potentially, an explosion of that type could lead to the destruction of the aircraft,” said West.
TSA gave the following statement to NBC News. “Detecting explosive materials and IED’s at the checkpoint is TSA’s top priority. Advances in aviation security since 9/11, such as hardened cockpit doors, 100 percent baggage and passenger screening, and the addition of thousands of federal air marshals and armed flight deck officers allows TSA to focus more acutely on evolving threats. TSA has already initiated enhanced detection technology training for security officers to identify possible explosive materials and IED components. This additional training complements the ongoing and aggressive deployment of state-of-the-art explosive detection technologies nationwide. TSA also uses intelligence, random canine team searches at checkpoints and other security measures, both seen and unseen, to more effectively counter this threat.”
In reply to TSA?s statement, former Gov. Kean said, “They need to do it yesterday because we haven?t got time.” Kip Hawley, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for TSA, stated that detection of Improvised Explosive Devices or IED’s is ?priority number one for TSA?. Assistant Secretary Hawley further added that beginning this past December, airline security personnel were instructed to no longer search for small scissors and tools so they could focus predominately on the detection of possible bomb materials. Hawley recommended that Congress approve an estimated five-dollar user fee for airline passengers so upgrades in airport security can be maintained and enhanced.
