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Aviation experts say new equipment needed to fight terrorism
01/01/2002
WASHINGTON – At airports, the war on terrorism is being fought with
30-year-old weapons.
Metal detectors and X-ray machines used to screen passengers and carry-on
luggage date from the 1970s, when they were deployed to prevent hijackings. They can't detect plastic explosives, such as those allegedly hidden in the
shoes of a man aboard a Paris-to-Miami flight on Dec. 22. A passenger, Richard
C. Reid was arrested after American Airlines attendants allegedly saw him try to
touch a lighted match to his sneakers. "Most equipment that is deployed is a generation old," said Rep. John Mica,
R-Fla., chairman of the House aviation subcommittee. "You need highly
sophisticated equipment that will detect explosive materials." Even the current metal detectors could be replaced with more modern
equipment, former FAA security chief Billie Vincent said. "Given the level of threat, we do not want to grandfather anything," Vincent
said. Developing and deploying such equipment will be the job of the new
Transportation Security Administration, which is to take control of airline
security by Feb. 19. But President Bush's nominee to head the agency, John Magaw, is still
awaiting confirmation by the Senate. Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, blocked the Senate
from approving Magaw, a former head of the Secret Service and the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, according to a congressional aide speaking on
condition of anonymity. Harkin acted after Republicans stopped the Senate from
voting on a Democratic plan to reauthorize farm programs through 2006, the aide
said. Mica has asked President Bush to use an interim process known as recess
appointment to get Magaw in the job while the Senate mulls his confirmation.
"The Richard Reid case is yet another sign that we need to bring immediate
focus to our new transportation security agency," Mica said. "The traveling
public needs to know that someone is in charge and taking action now." Transportation Security Administration spokesman Paul Takemoto said the new
agency is looking at new technology to help screen passengers. The Federal
Aviation Administration is helping to develop such equipment at its technical
center in Atlantic City, N.J. Capt. Steve Luckey, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's national
security committee, said he was concerned that equipment at airports doesn't
screen passengers for explosives. "The technology just isn't there to keep up with the demand," Luckey said.
"We're working toward that in the future." One low-tech solution is on the way; FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the
agency plans to hire another 90 bomb-sniffing dogs to be deployed at 25
airports. There now are 180 dogs at 39 airports. Former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo said the FAA
concentrated on singling out some passengers for extensive searches rather than
developing equipment to screen everyone for explosives. "They really thought they had the problem solved with their profiling," said
Schiavo, now a lawyer representing victims of airline accidents. "They really
did not place too much effort in the equipment at all." Equipment at many airports can screen checked baggage for explosives. The new
aviation security law requires a system in place at each airport to screen all
checked bags by explosive detection machines by Dec. 31, 2002. Beginning Jan.
18, 2002, all checked bags must be inspected for explosives by machine, hand,
bomb-sniffing dog, or ensuring that the luggage is not loaded on an airplane
unless the passenger boards. Mica said the new law also includes $50 million to develop new equipment, and
asked the Transportation Department to tell him in January how it plans to spend
the money. "Your security system is only as strong as its weakest link," Mica said. "It
is important that we have technology and equipment that will detect not only
checked baggage but explosives that may be concealed on the person."