Airlines and Security -- The Challenge post 9/11

[A4sForever]

Frontier Airbus Quarantined in Denver

Passengers On Plane From Phila, PA Quarantined In Denver

DOES THIS MEAN FRONTIER's BAGELS ARE NOT KOSHER??

Wednesday February 9, 2:16 AM EST
DENVER (AP) -- Eighty passengers on a Frontier Airlines plane coming from Philadelphia were quarantined Tuesday for more than 90 minutes at Denver International Airport after a woman became ill on the flight.

An in-flight medical consulting firm used by the airline was unable to determine the woman's ailment and a medical team that met the plane on the tarmac kept passengers on Flight 449 as a precaution, airline spokesman Joe Hodas said.

Passengers were allowed off the Airbus A319 at 9:55 p.m. after it was determined the woman was not contagious. The woman, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital. Her condition was not immediately known.

 

[ChuckMK23]

I have no idea why the fed's are wasting valuable resources investigating someone shining an inexpensive off the shelf "laser" at an airliner. There is no threat at all from a scientific or military perspective - it is the equivalent of shining a flashlight at the aircraft.

Once again another over reaction by technocrats at TSA/FBI, etc.

 

[A4sForever]

Once again another over reaction by technocrats at TSA/FBI, etc.

In my opinion, the TSA, FAA, and assorted bureaucracies are a major part of the problem(s). They micro-manage nearly everything to death. They collectively have an uncanny ability to state the obvious and find convoluted approaches to problems that run the gamut from the simple to the difficult. But then, they did not ask my opinion.

Sometimes, you just have to take a stand -- but you do so at your own risk. I took out my verbal "sword" and drew a line in the sand on one occasion and the TSA backed down. The FAA showed up and found many excesses and areas of incorrect application of "policy" that was remedied. But I don't like being Don Quixote charging at windmills --- it's lonely out there.

Long story short, I threatened to shut down a TransPac flight because of TSA overstepping their bounds --- I was right, I wasn't bluffing, and it worked to everyone's benefit. But tomorrow? Well, that's another day ...

 

[A4sForever]

From the YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING DEPT:

United Pilot Accused of Wall St. Attack Plot
Thursday, February 10, 2005

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A United Airlines pilot who also flew for the National Guard told a woman that he wanted to crash a plane into Wall Street because some people made "easy money" there, court documents allege.

Robert Feneziani , 44, of San Diego, was arrested Wednesday by FBI agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force of Western New York and charged with lying on a military application for a security clearance. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $10,000 bail.

On an October application for top security clearance, Feneziani said he had not been arrested or involved in civil court actions in the last seven years, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said. Officials later found he was arrested on two misdemeanor charges in San Diego, charges that were later dropped, and was involved in a civil court matter in 2000.

According to an FBI agent's affidavit, the woman, whose identity was not revealed in court papers, called the FBI Feb. 2 and told the agent Feneziani had made a threat in 2003 ( !?!?!?!?) to crash a plane. Based on that information, the FBI investigated Feneziani and learned he had allegedly lied on the Defense Department form, the affidavit said.

United Airlines spokesman Jeff Green said Feneziani was removed from service pending the outcome of the case. Authorities said Feneziani had already been suspended from military flight status based on problems with anger management. (Note: no anger or agression allowed in military flying these days ... ??)

"We do not believe he poses any imminent threat to commit an act of terrorism, but we believe he has made threatening remarks in the past that cause some serious concern," said Peter Ahearn, special agent in charge of the FBI in Buffalo.

The charge of providing false statements to the Defense Department carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Feneziani was assigned to the New York Air National Guard's 107th Air Refueling Wing in Niagara Falls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: I don't know any details (obviously) other than the pilot reported on appears to be a classic case of death by idiocy. You have to admire our bureaucrats, however, how they "sprung into action" to put down this threat to commercial aviation (statements made in 2003??) The lesson: Just be careful of what you say, think, and feel --- it might come back to bite you, even a year and a half later (?). BIG BROTHER IS near ....

The best policy ?? --- keep your mouth shut when in uniform or when in public. The Feds have a lot of money, personnel, and time on their hands .... they want to justify their budgets and politicians' faith in them ... meanwhile, 75 year old grannies get "2nd stage" searched at the airport security lines.

ROGER BALL !!

 

[A4sForever]

High Flight ???

More Continental Air Workers Accused Of Smuggling Cocaine

Monday February 14, 5:15 PM EST

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Four more people, including three airline baggage handlers, were arrested Monday in a continuing investigation of cocaine smuggling at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Continental Airlines (CAL) handlers and a man who had worked as a security guard were charged with using their access to secure areas to act as lookouts while others diverted luggage containing cocaine from international flights so it could be claimed at domestic carousels, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The scheme, which involved retagging the baggage, allowed the suitcases to evade Customs inspection. (NOTE: so if they can do it coming in --- what is to stop them from doing it going "out", i.e., placing a BOMB onboard -- only takes $$$$ to convert some of these guys --- or how about box cutters onboard, guns, you name it -- !! Does anyone really believe all of the 9/11 weapons came through security screening ?? The jury is still out on that one --- A4s)

The arrests are related to those made in June, when 16 people, including 10 Continental workers at Newark Liberty, as well as airports in Miami and Puerto Rico, were charged with smuggling hundreds of pounds of cocaine into the country through Newark Liberty from January 2000 to August 2003.

A spokesman for Houston-based Continental, Dave Messing, declined to comment on the arrests. He also said he had no immediate information on what happened to the six workers charged last year. Authorities have said Continental assisted in the investigation, which was conducted by Customs Enforcement and the FBI, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The ring laundered millions of dollars in profits by taking suitcases filled with cash out of the country, again using their positions to bypass inspection, authorities said, with conspirators traveling to Miami, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere to import the drugs and export the cash.

 

[A4sForever]

Northwest Pilots: Lasers Shined In Cockpits Near Detroit

Northwest Pilots: Lasers Shined In Cockpits Near Detroit

Friday February 25, 8:46 AM EST


ROMULUS, Mich. (AP)--Two Northwest Airlines pilots said laser lights were shined into their cockpits as they were about to land their planes at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, authorities said.

A flight from Orlando, Fla., landed safely at 7:20 p.m. EST Thursday, followed at 8 p.m. by a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, FBI Special Agent Terry Booth told The Detroit News.

The pilots told air traffic controllers that green laser light came from an area along Interstate 94 just east of the airport. Airport security reported the incidents to the Transportation Security Administration, which in turn notified the FBI.

"They were making their approaches, and the pilots reported seeing a green laser-like light shining towards their aircraft," Booth said. A search around the airport was started shortly after the pilots filed their reports, but no suspects were found, Booth said.

Scott Tennant, a spokesman for Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC), said all flights at the airport departed and landed safely Thursday night. He referred additional questions to federal authorities.

Telephone messages were left Friday morning with a spokeswoman for the FBI's Detroit office and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Over the past four months, the FAA has received dozens of reports of lasers being pointed at airplanes in several states. Laser illuminations can briefly disorient a pilot during the critical flight stages of ascending and descending.

Six airline pilots told authorities they saw a laser while approaching Dallas- Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday evening. No lasers were aimed at the airplanes' cockpits, the FBI's Dallas office said. Interfering with a flight crew is a 20-year federal felony.

 

[A4sForever]

Bullet Hole Found In US Airways Plane At NC Airport

Wednesday March 9, 11:11 AM EST


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)--Federal investigators said a bullet hole found in the side of a U.S. Airways jet might be nothing more than the result of a hunting accident. U.S. Airways (UAIRQ) workers at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport discovered the hole early Monday morning or late Sunday night, WCNC-TV in Charlotte reported.

The plane had flown from Mexico to Denver, then to Charlotte. The FBI, which is investigating, said at what location it was shot isn't known.

The FBI said there's no indication that terrorism or malicious intent were a motive. FBI agents said the bullet hole could be the result of a hunting accident. The aircraft was examined at the U.S. Airways hangar.

Aviation consultant Alan Winninger said this case and one in December show that airports might have blind spaces where someone could shoot at an airliner and not be seen. In December, puncture holes were found in a U.S. Airways jet at the Charlotte airport.

The FBI said it is still investigating that incident, and nothing suggests the two incidents are related.

 

[A4sForever]

Report: TSA Misled Public, Congress About Passenger Data

Friday March 25, 7:30 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP)--The U.S. Transportation Security Administration misled the public about its role in obtaining personal information about 12 million airline passengers to test a new computerized system that screens for terrorists, according to a government investigation. The report, released Friday by Homeland Security Department Acting Inspector General Richard Skinner, said the agency deceived individuals, the press and Congress in 2003 and 2004. It stopped short of saying TSA lied.

"TSA officials made inaccurate statements regarding these transfers that undermined public trust in the agency," the report said. "These misstatements were apparently not meant to mischaracterize known facts. Instead, they were premised on an incomplete understanding of the underlying facts."

Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said the agency took months to disclose its role in getting the data. "The American public must know their personal information is well protected, or they will distrust the new systems we need to keep our nation safe," Lieberman said in a statement.

The report comes at a sensitive time for the TSA, which is using airline passenger data - which can include credit card information, phone number and address - to test a computerized system for screening passengers, called Secure Flight. A report due out Monday concluded that the TSA was inconsistent in protecting passengers' privacy as it developed a passenger prescreening system. It did acknowledge that the agency's environment for privacy has improved substantially.

The report cites several occasions where TSA officials made inaccurate statements about passenger data:

--- In September 2003, the agency's Freedom of Information Act staff received hundreds of requests from Jet Blue Airways Corp. (JBLU) passengers asking if the TSA had their records. After a cursory search, the FOIA staff posted a notice on the TSA Web site that it had no JetBlue passenger data. Though the FOIA staff found JetBlue passenger records in TSA's possession in May, the notice stayed on the Web site for more than a year.

--- In November 2003, TSA chief James Loy incorrectly told the Governmental Affairs Committee that certain kinds of passenger data weren't being used to test passenger prescreening.

--- In September 2003, a technology magazine reporter asked a TSA spokesman whether real data were used to test the passenger prescreening system. The spokesman said only fake data were used; the responses "were not accurate," the report said.

The report also disclosed that the TSA had a much broader role in getting and using passenger data than had been previously disclosed.

Between February 2002 and June 2003, TSA had a role in 14 transfers of data involving at least 12 million records obtained without passengers' knowledge or permission from America West Holdings Corp., AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), Frontier Airlines Inc. (FRNT) and JetBlue.

 

[A4sForever]

Passenger screening gets 'incomplete'

By Leslie Miller, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The government's latest computerized airline passenger screening program doesn't adequately protect travelers' privacy, according to a congressional report that could further delay a project considered a priority after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Congress passed a bill last year that said the federal Transportation Security Administration could spend no money to implement the program until the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the program met 10 preset conditions. The GAO found the Secure Flight has so far met only one of those conditions. "A significant amount of work needs to be done before all aviation passengers are checked against terrorist watch lists," says Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), who chairs the subcommittee responsible for the program's funding

 

[Cyclic]

Well, all I can say is.......I hope the 9mm compartment is within reach of the left seat.

 

[HAL Pilot]

www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=8e9c2ea2-9a9b-41b6-a5ae-645b40185024


Air Force One Implicated In TFR Violation
Fri, 01 Apr '05

Confusion Over Cheney's Location Cited
04.01.05 Special Edition: "It had to happen sooner or later," says one Air Force official who spoke to ANN, on background. The Capitol is all abuzz over the revelation that Air Force One, carrying President Bush, has been cited for a violation of an in-force TFR that was instituted to protect the Vice President.

The details are being debated by a few in the know, but what we can piece together is this... Some time after Air Force One had taxied for take-off on Friday, a TFR was implemented (with the usual short notice) to cover the travels of Vice President Cheney. At some point in Friday's flight, Air Force One violated the Cheney TFR and F-16s were scrambled to intercept the President's 747.

The big surprise came as the F-16s intercepting Air Force One had to deal with the F-16s that were flying in support of the President... resulting in some "really nasty name-calling" on the guard frequency, some "really aggressive 1 v 1 action," and some quick excuses for the crew of Air Force One. The Presidential 747 was forced to divert and land in Podunk (ID) Municipal Airport... where the small municipal strip's runway proved to be barely enough to get the Boeing down and stopped.

The flight crew of Air Force One is not amused by all the fuss. A Senior Master Sgt. supporting the flight says that the flight crew was "beat-red" when they came out of the cockpit, and were "really pissed." According to the SMS, the flight crew complained about "short notice on the TFR and the nebulous details surrounding Cheney's actual location..."

Additional quotes reportedly have the flight crew complaining that, "How the hell are you supposed to know where the damned VP is when he's always at some 'undisclosed' location... how the hell are we supposed to avoid an undisclosed location. Can ya tell me that? This TFR system is absolutely unworkable... how can ANYONE get around with this kind of nonsense going on?"

Air Force officials are, officially, staying mum for the moment. Whatever disciplinary issues that may remain will reportedly be handled by Air Force investigators. In the meantime, Marine One was dispatched to carry the President the rest of the way to his destination.

 

[Tripp]

I love ANN's April 1st edition...

 

[HAL Pilot]

Well, all I can say is.......I hope the 9mm compartment is within reach of the left seat.

9mm? This is a real FFDO......

 

[A4sForever]

United Airlines Jet Is Diverted To Chicago

[font=Verdana,Sans-Serif]Tuesday April 26, 2:45 PM EDT [/font]



[font=Verdana,Sans-Serif]CHICAGO (AP)--A report of suspicious material on a United Airlines (UALAQ) flight from New York to San Francisco prompted the pilot to make an emergency landing Tuesday at O'Hare International Airport.

The material turned out to be an MP3 player, homeopathic medicines and wires, said Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Ann Davis. She didn't elaborate. (what brand MP3 player? What music? Vitamins? What? I got's to know .... )

United spokesman Jeff Green and Chicago police would not say if anyone was taken into custody as the Chicago Police Bomb and Arson squad investigated the materials.

A passenger aboard the flight had told a flight attendant he saw another passenger with the suspicious material, Green said. He said the flight attendant and flight crew examined the material and recommended landing.

All 66 passengers and eight crew members aboard United Flight 27 were evacuated after the airplane landed, Green said. No one was injured.

COMMENTS?? :
[/font]

 

[A4sForever]

Pilots Union: Defending America Means Defending Airliners

Proposed security taxes threaten struggling industry and U.S. jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ALPA News) - Capt. Duane E. Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), has issued the following statement on the Administration's proposed $1.5 billion increase in security taxes.

"Homeland security is just that: defense of the homeland, the entire nation, and all of its cities and citizens. Singling out one industry this disproportionately is patently unfair. It is time for a new approach--and it starts with funding national security out of the general treasury.

"Pilots were among the first victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Each day, as we pursue our passion to fly the line, we know that we are also on the front lines of aviation security.

"No one understands better than pilots how essential it is to secure this nation's aviation system. In addition to protecting passengers, crews and cargo, a secure air transportation system helps ensure economic prosperity and more than 11 million jobs in this country. A secure U.S. aviation system is also a living memorial to the pilots, flight attendants and all who fell in the line of duty on 9/11 by doing all we can to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

"While the terrorist attacks dramatically affected aviation, the security measures that resulted defend our nation, not our industry. America, not four individual airliners, was attacked on 9/11. "But more is at stake here. The idea of saddling an industry that is already hemorrhaging billions of dollars with another $1.5 billion in taxes defies common sense.

"Federal taxes and fees already constitute as much as 40 percent of a domestic roundtrip ticket, more than consumers pay in federal consumption taxes on alcohol, tobacco or gasoline. ( 40% !!!!!)

"Pilots--ALPA members--have invested billions in concessions so that their managements can restore a healthy bottom line to our industry. All our efforts will fail under the weight of this exorbitant taxation.

"The challenges our airlines face are serious enough without these taxes. Managements have many issues to address: fare wars, web distribution, and planning for rising fuel costs, and easing over-capacity in the wrong markets. They cannot do their jobs with another $1.5 billion sucked out of their revenue.

"We clearly need to chart a new course that enables our country to both secure aviation transportation and rebuild this industry--it starts with funding national security out of the general treasury."