Builders of explosive detection machines say they can meet deadline for inspecting checked bags

By JONATHAN D. SALANT
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Executives of the companies building explosive detection machines say they can produce them quickly enough to meet a congressionally mandated deadline for screening all checked airline baggage.

"We have never been capacity-limited; we have only been order-limited," said Frederick Muntz, vice president of InVision Technologies, one of two companies building Federal Aviation Administration-certified bomb detection machines.

"There is plenty of manufacturing capacity," added Frank Lanza, chairman of the other FAA-certified company, L-3 Communications.

To meet the new aviation security law's Dec. 31, 2002, deadline, the FAA estimates that it will need more than 2,000 explosive detection machines at the nation's 453 commercial airports; there are currently 161 machines at more than 50 airports. The estimated cost is $4 to $5 billion, plus another $1 billion for employees to run the machines.

"There is no doubt that meeting the deadline for deployment will be a difficult task," said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, which held a hearing Friday.

InVision and L-3 officials said they could bring in other companies to build machines if necessary.

Officials of competing companies said the FAA should approve their machines as well. "The goal to deploy only certified explosives detection systems ... is simply not realistic," said Frank Vehlen, executive vice president of Heimann Systems Corp.

FAA Associate Administrator Steven Zaidman said the other machines were not approved because they incorrectly identify too many bags as containing explosives. Having to rechecking large numbers of bags because of faulty readings would delay passengers and flights.

Even with the faulty readings, the machines screen hundreds more bags an hour than the FAA-certified equipment, said British security experts who use the machines at airports in their country.

Any bag identified as possibly containing explosives is checked by a machine using the FAA-approved technology, which works like a CT scan, they said. This way, the slower machines check fewer bags.

"I don't want to miss explosives, but I'm not so concerned about a false error rate that can be corrected by another machine," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.

Michael Ellenbogen, a vice president of Perkin-Elmer Detection Systems, whose equipment is used at British airports, said such a system would work as well in the United States.

"A little bit of flexibility will allow us to achieve the goal in a realistic situation that won't cripple the airport," Ellenbogen said.

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On the Net:

House Transportation Committee: www.house.gov/transportation

APNP-12-07-01 1614CST