Undermining America

In 1994, a terrorist brought materials to make a bomb aboard a Philippine Airlines flight, assembled it in the lavatory, and set it off, killing a passenger aboard the next flight. In 2001, flight. Despite these incidents and circulating several alerts to airports that terrorists may attempt to sneak explosives onto airplanes, and despite several technological companies saying they make systems to thwart these kinds of attacks, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has still not decided on a technology to do this. "But the companies say the Transportation Security Administration has been slow to review their products," according to the Washington Post. U.S. security checkpoints do have some bomb-detecting machines but they are not used routinely, not used to scan or explosives on passengers’ bodies, and experts say they sometimes fail to find well-hidden explosives. [Washington Post, 12/8/03]

More than two dozen small airports lack security operations common at large airports, including metal detectors, screeners and luggage X-ray machines, according to a Washington Post article entitled, "Security lax at Smallest U.S. Airports; Terrorists Could Exploit Gaps, Managers Fear." Some of these airports have daily scheduled flights to major airports. The government takeover of airport security after 9/11 excluded these airports. [Washington Post, 3/9/04]

According to a 2003 New York Times article entitled, "Security Is Looser on Corporate Aircraft," none of the passengers on the 15,500 aircraft operated by 10,000 companies receive pre-boarding security checks by federal screeners and very few even pass through a metal detector. [New York Times, 10/28/03]

"The Department of Homeland Security remains concerned about Al-Qaeda's continued interest in aviation including using cargo jets to carry out attacks on critical infrastructure as well as targeting liquid natural gas, chemical and other hazardous materials facilities," said a November 2003 press release by the Department of Homeland Security. [Dep. of Homeland Security press release, "Statement by the Department of Homeland Security on Continued Al-Qaeda Threats, 11/21/03] In 2004, a report by Sen. Charles Schumer found that 22 percent of New York passenger flights, and 100 percent of cargo flights carried cargo and mail that are not security screened. "Cargo-only planes lack the reinforced cockpit doors that are on passenger planes, leaving them dangerously vulnerable to being taken over by someone who sneaks aboard," according to Schumer. "[T]he TSA does not conduct background checks on those with access to the cargo planes…" according to Sen. Charles Schumer. "Although the TSA eventually plans to require private shippers and cargo carriers to conduct some background checks on their employees, it has not yet done so." [Schumer press release, 1/4/04]

Bush’s recently proposed FY05 budget provides no funding for new airport security screeners. Sen. Charles Schumer has revealed that Federal budget cuts have meant that guards who have not had TSA background checks are guarding some airports. At a February 2004 press conference, "Schumer today revealed that guards without government background checks are guarding airport terminals at night, checking passengers IDs and boarding passes, and handling luggage after it has been screened – all because federal budget cutbacks mean there aren't enough TSA screeners with full background checks to do this work." [Sen. Schumer press release, 2/8/04]

In June 2003, the TSA admitted that it still had not completed background checks on 22,000 of the 55,000 airport security workers already on the job. [Washington Post, 7/3/03] "The Transportation Security Administration's poor management and oversight of its contractors allowed thousands of airport security screeners to begin working without completed background checks, including 85 convicted felons who were later fired, a report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general said yesterday," according to the Washington Post. "In its rush to hire more than 55,000 new federal airport screeners after the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the TSA failed to ensure that background checks were properly conducted on its new workforce, the report said. In an effort to fix the problem, the agency then erroneously fired 169 screeners who had clean backgrounds." "Screeners were hired trained, and in some cases, put to work contrary to sound personnel practices," according to the January 2004 report. [WP, 2/6/04; DHS Inspector General Report, "A Review of Background Checks for Federal Passenger and Baggage Screeners at Airports," 1/04] A 2002 GAO report found that the TSA performs fewer tests on the screeners' performance in detecting dangerous items than the Federal Aviation Administration did when it oversaw screening before 9/11. [WP, 10/26/02, 9/26/03]

In February 2004, a convicted felon, on probation for burglary, was able to walk unnoticed passed two security checkpoints and walk onto a jumbo jet without a ticket at Los Angeles Airport. He was discovered by passengers hiding in the bathroom and arrested. [Los Angeles Times, 2/6/04] In late 2003, a 20-year-old man brought box cutters, matches, bleach and a clay substance aboard two Southwest Airlines planes. "Notes left with the packages indicated the items were placed there to point out security lapses at airports, according to the Washington Post. [Washington Post, 10/19/03; New York Times, 10/26/03] In August 2003, three men went fishing in waters near the runways of New York City’s Kennedy Airport. After the men were unable to control their inflatable raft from washing up on the runways, they wandered around – "There were jumbo jets with their lights on, just waiting there," one of the men said. "You could walk right up and touch them if you wanted." After wandering the runways looking for help and expecting to be picked up by SWAT teams, "we realized no one was going to come up and ask us what we were doing there, we knew we had to find them ourselves," he said. Police officers did not meet the three fishermen until they wandered into the airport's main police station. [New York Times, 8/13/03] "At Dulles, the TSA discovered several months ago that off-duty airport and airline workers were using airport identification badges to get through secure doors while they were traveling as passengers and carrying luggage that had not been screened," according to the Washington Post. The practice apparently continues." [Washington Post, 6/22/03] In late 2003, a man was able to get into the wheel well of a plane that traveled from London to New York. The man did not survive the flight. [New York Times, 12/31/03] In February 2004, a teenager was able to run through a security post at Kennedy International Airport. After dispatching units, it took minutes for security teams to apprehend him. [New York Times, 1/3/04]