Aviation Community In Uproar Over Tsa's Botched Security Check, Pilots Outraged Over TSA Snafu That Grounded Nine Planes- merged Options

[painter]

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5619046&page=1

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Aviation Community In Uproar Over TSA's Botched Security Check

Pilots Outraged Over TSA Snafu That Grounded Nine Planes

By JOSEPH RHEE and ERIC LONGABARDI
August 20, 2008—

Pilots around the country expressed outrage and concern today about the safety of their planes following an incident where a TSA inspector, conducting a spot security check, used sensitive instrument probes as a handhold to climb onto parked aircraft at Chicago's O'Hare airport. As reported on ABCNews.com, the incident led to the grounding of nine American Eagle planes, causing a ripple effect that delayed 40 flights throughout the day.

Today pilots weighed in with hundreds of complaints on internet aviation forums over whether TSA inspectors were properly qualified to conduct such airplane safety checks, according to Jim Campbell of Aero-News Network, a widely-read aviation industry news service. Campbell said he received over 600 e-mails from worried pilots and other aviation workers.

"This was and is a deadly serious issue," one e-mailer wrote. "I envision something like a TSA inspector trying to remove a prop lock as part of a security check and imparting a stress fracture into a blade."

TSA maintained that its agents are qualified to perform security inspections of parked airplanes. "Our inspectors are extensively trained over what their responsbility entails," TSA spokesperson Elio Montenegro told ABCNews.com. However, Montenegro said he did not know if inspectors received detailed training on aircraft flight systems.

Many pilots today expressed skepticism that TSA inspectors are properly trained. "Their job is to screen baggage and people," wrote an e-mailer. "How the TSA can train their inspectors on every single different style and type of airplane is a question many would like answered. Flight attendants and pilots go to school for months just to learn one specific make and model... but TSA inspectors can apparently walk onto ANY aircraft at ANY time and know exactly what belongs and what doesn't."

Given the sensitivity of the equipment affected by yesterday's incident, Campbell said TSA's security program could have deadly consequences. "I flat out predict that if this continues, an aircraft will be brought down," said Campbell.

Eric Longabardi is a freelance journalist who is a frequent contributor to the ABCNews.com investigative page.

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

[dMz]

Does anyone expect the troglodytic fascist cretins to suffer any consequences from this? (see Libby, "Scooter" )

[rob balsamo]

Quick Stats
# Airline Flts per day: 28,000

Airborne Right Now: 4988

Flights Protected by 2
Armed Pilots: <3%

Flights Protected by
Air Marshals: (est.) 2%

At Risk Flights: 95%

Taxes Spent on Airline
Security: $12B

Airport Screening Failure
Rate against concealed
weapons: 75-95%

#Pilot Volunteers Refusing
to Fly Armed Due to Program
Problems: 50,000

Cost to Protect 2% of flights
with Air Marshals: $700M/year

Cost to Protect 100% of flights with Armed Pilots: $15 M/year

http://www.secure-skies.org/

bolding above mine...

I know guys who carried nukes during the Cold War who were refused the FFDO program to carry a .40 cal pistol on the flight deck.

Dog and Pony show.

[rob balsamo]

Someone please try to find the email of Eric Longabardi. Im looking as well. If you find it, email him our press releases...

http://pilotsfor911truth.org/pressrelease

[amazed!]

Yes, it's rather surprising that the aviation community is actually upset about this. They are usually very meek like lambs, taking hook, line & sinker all the bullshit regarding TSA and the War On Terror.

Maybe something will come of it, but I doubt it. The community just does not understand the fraudulent nature of the WOT.

[Omega892R09]

Well when you have a chimp as CinC then what better can you expect of the goons lower down.

[Sanders]

ABC News: Apparently a TSA inspector doing security checks overnight at O'Hare airport used "TAT probes" mounted on the planes as ladders.

9 planes were grounded and 40 flights delayed. "Pilots were furious."


http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id...3502&page=1



(I have no idea what a TAT sensor is, but ..... (IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/doh1.gif) )

[Omega892R09]

ABC News: Apparently a TSA inspector doing security checks overnight at O'Hare airport used "TAT probes" mounted on the planes as ladders.

9 planes were grounded and 40 flights delayed. "Pilots were furious."


http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id...3502&page=1



(I have no idea what a TAT sensor is, but ..... (IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/doh1.gif) )

True Atmospheric Temperature - at a guess but would have thought the probes in question would have been for airspeed and altitude too.

The story first appeared on this forum at:

http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....c=14280&hl=

This post has been edited by Omega892R09: Aug 29 2008, 06:28 AM

[Sanders]

Woops. (IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/doh1.gif)

[dMz]

I found this older article recently, but it is worth repeating.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/a...n-list-mix-ups/

Air marshals grounded in list mix-ups

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

False identifications based on a terrorist no-fly list have for years prevented some federal air marshals from boarding flights they are assigned to protect, according to officials with the agency, which is finally taking steps to address the problem.

Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) familiar with the situation say the mix-ups, in which marshals are mistaken for terrorism suspects who share the same names, have gone on for years — just as they have for thousands of members of the traveling public.

One air marshal said it has been "a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline."

"In some cases, planes have departed without any coverage because the airline employees were adamant they would not fly," said the air marshal, who asked not to be named because the job requires anonymity. "I've seen guys actually being denied boarding."

A second air marshal said one agent "has been getting harassed for six years because his exact name is on the no-fly list."

Earlier this month, the agency issued a new Security Directive (SD) "to address those situations where air carriers deny FAMs boarding based on 'no-fly list' names matches." The memo was issued April 23 from the assistant director of the office of flight operations.

Gregory Alter, spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal Service, said the new directive "mitigates any misidentification concerns by empowering airlines to quickly clear an air marshal's status after positively identifying their law-enforcement status."

"In rare instances, air marshals, like all travelers, are occasionally misidentified as being on a watch because of name or personal identifier similarities to individuals actually on the lists," Mr. Alter said.

The air marshal service does not release how many agents are employed and declined to specify the number of agents whose names are similar to those of wanted or suspected terrorists.

The new procedures are classified as "sensitive security information" and address both domestic and international check-in procedures.

"FAMs may encounter situations where this SD has not yet reached every air carrier customer service representative (CSR)," the memo said.

"If a FAM is denied boarding based on 'no fly list' issues, FAMS should request to speak to an air carrier supervisory CSR. If the air carrier continues to deny the FAM a boarding pass, FAMS should contact [their supervisor] as soon as possible for assistance," the memo said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said this week that one major air carrier reports roughly 9,000 false positive hits on the watch list every day.

The Terrorist Screening Center announced April 10 it will automatically review nearly 500,000 names on its watch list that are frequently matched during airport screenings and other law-enforcement encounters with the general public, and remove those names that don't belong to actual suspects.

Additionally, Mr. Chertoff announced Monday that each airline can now create a system of limited biographical data including a passenger's date of birth to clear up watch list misidentifications.

"Hassles due to misidentification and the resulting necessity to stand in line to check in at the ticket counter is consistently among the deepest and most valid complaints of the traveling public," Mr. Chertoff said.

"Thousands of passengers are inconvenienced each day, and this change should provide a way to eliminate the vast majority of these situations. This is good for travelers and for security, because as we make the checkpoint environment calmer, it becomes easier to spot individuals with hostile intent," Mr. Chertoff said.