FAA criticized over shoe bombs

12/24/2001

By JONATHAN D. SALANT
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration warned in early December that terrorists might hide weapons in footwear, but not until a man tried to light an explosive in his sneakers did it order airlines to check passengers' shoes.

Now, passenger shoes are being run through X-ray machines and equipment used to check bags for explosives are being employed for footwear. Critics want to know why such safety measures weren't ordered up earlier.

``They have been in the business of protecting the airlines too long,'' said Kathleen Flynn, a member of the presidential commission on airline security formed after the crash of TWA Flight 800. ``They have supported the commerce part of the airlines rather than the security part.''

The FAA said in a Dec. 11 advisory that terrorists trying to hijack airlines in the United States and Europe might try to hide weapons in their shoes.

But the agency didn't require the airlines to do anything until a man was subdued on American Airlines Flight 63 Saturday after trying to light an explosive in his sneakers.

It wasn't the first time that the FAA waited until disaster to act.

The agency didn't require airlines to assure that luggage was not loaded on an airplane unless its owner also boards until after a bomb in an unaccompanied bag blew up Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. Most airports still don't have machines to inspect checked baggage for plastic explosives used in that bombing. And until Congress acted following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, low-paid, high-turnover workers filled screener jobs at airport security checkpoints.

``This is classic FAA. They are always reactive. They never get out front,'' said former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo, a lawyer now representing victims of airline accidents.

``They were taking their lead from the carriers who did not want further delays for the holidays,'' Schiavo said. ``The FAA won't take measures that cost the airlines money and they won't take security measures that could cause delays. Law enforcement requires both.''

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown noted that the agency had issued a warning, pointing out shoes as a potential hiding place for weapons, before Saturday's incident. ``There was guidance out on this prior to this event,'' Brown said.

But the order, known as a security directive, did not come until after the incident. The agency declined to discuss specifics except to say the order contained detailed instructions for airlines and airports to follow.

``Travelers can now expect increased scrutiny of their shoes both at the security checkpoint and also at the gate,'' said Amy von Walter, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which runs Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. ``It doesn't mean every person's shoes will be checked, but people can expect that their shoes may get some increased attention.''

Airline and airport officials said Monday that they were following the new FAA directive. Some said they had been doing it since the Sept. 11 attacks; others said the shoe checks are brand new.

At Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines began searching passengers' shoes at security checkpoints and at the gate Monday, spokesman Reid Davis said.

``For example, when they pull passengers aside to check their bags they also will be checking their shoes,'' Davis said.

AirTran Airways also started conducting checks of passengers' shoes Monday, company spokesman Tad Hutcheson said. ``We are following the FAA directive to the letter, and they will be looking at shoes,'' Hutcheson said.

Some airports reported that passenger screeners had already began checking shoes at random.

``I had to bring in my boot-puller for all of these cowboy boots,'' said Mike Johnson, the airport police chief in Boise, Idaho.

``If they have a shoe insert, we look under it, and just look to see if the shoe's been tampered with in any way,'' said Chris Martin, manager of Northwest Airlines station operations at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Neb. ``We have some people who travel out Eppley pretty regularly. They've started just taking their shoes off and putting them right on the tray to go through X-ray.''

On the Net:

Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov