20 September 2001

U.S. Aviation Security Needs Strengthening

By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Despite new security measures implemented at U.S. airports after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, serious weaknesses persist in U.S. aviation security, a congressional investigator says.

Gerald Dillingham, physical infrastructure issues director at Congress' General Accounting Office (GAO), testified September 20 before the Senate Commerce Committee that the most vulnerable points were at air traffic control (ATC) computer systems and entry points to airport secure areas as well as in passenger and baggage screening.

He suggested that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implement more quickly measures aimed at better protecting ATC computer systems and continue working on a "smart card" technology that would prevent unauthorized individuals from bypassing screening.

Dillingham also said screeners' ability to detect dangerous objects has been declining since 1978. But, he added, their performance could be improved by better training and enhanced technology as indicated by the experience of other countries.

In Belgium, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, he said, airport authorities or governments are responsible for screening; the airlines have that responsibility at U.S. airports. He said foreign screeners are generally better trained and paid than those in the United States. During a test program, screeners from one of these countries detected more than twice as many objects as U.S. screeners, he testified.

In separate testimony, Charles Barclay, president of the American Association of Airport Executives, proposed to install at a quicker pace a new generation of explosive detection systems. These systems have already been installed at 46 U.S. airports, he said.

Also testifying before the committee, Captain Duane Woerth, president of Airline Pilots Association International, asked for immediate reinforcement of cockpit doors and installation of at least two stun guns in the cockpit of U.S. aircraft.

In the long run, he said, the government should consider training volunteering pilots as federal law enforcement officers and allowing them to carry weapons in the cockpit. Woerth said that airlines should equip their aircraft with air quality monitors warning pilots about the presence of chemical or biological agents inside the plane and cockpits -- with full-vision oxygen masks enabling crew to land safely during a chemical or biological attack.

Both Woerth and Barclay urged Congress and the White House to create a new aviation law enforcement agency specifically responsible for aviation security.

Committee Chairman Senator Ernest Hollings said Congress and the administration needed to ensure that law enforcement agencies, the FAA, and air carriers could share information so that known terrorists do not board airplanes. But even if the United States succeeds in securing all current vulnerabilities, he warned, it must anticipate a terrorists' next attempt and have safeguards ready.