ViceZilla’s Views

Our Government would want us to believe that the skies are friendly and safe. “There will never be another high jacking of a commercial airplane in American airspace again,” they told us just shortly after airlines began flying again after 9/11. Improvements in airport security, mechanical and screening procedures were promised, as well as fortified cockpit doors were to be mandatory. Air Marshalls on all flights were also promised to protect passengers from anybody who might “try” something. And last but not least, the Government was also going to implement more stringent bureaucratic agencies to prevent the unthinkable from happening again.

For awhile we felt safer; things were getting back to normal. We were getting used to having to walk through airport security checkpoints almost naked to show that we weren’t concealing any contraband articles. Sure it was an inconvenience, but we wanted to be safe, right? So if it meant being inconvenienced a little, we were ready to make the sacrifice.

With a plethora of Governmental Security Agencies working behind the scenes on the ground, the top notch well trained security screeners at the airports, the armed Air Marshals sitting somewhere amongst the passengers on the plane, as well as the fortified cockpit door separating the pilots from the cabin, what could go wrong?

In a report released by the inspector general, obtained from a Freedom of Information request by the Washington Times, shows some very serious shortcomings and vulnerabilities of the Government’s promised airline security procedures.

The report chronicled the events of Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles in 2004, when reports of “suspicious passengers” activities were downplayed by Homeland Security officials calling the claims “hysterical.” Claims by fellow passengers, Flight Crew, and Air Marshals of 13 Middle Eastern men behaving suspiciously on a plane need to be investigated, not brushed under the carpet and labeled as “paranoid” or “hysterical” by Homeland Security officials.

“On the flight, 13 Middle Eastern men behaved in a suspicious manner that aroused the attention and concern of the flight attendants, passengers, air marshals and pilots,” the report said. The men “walked in the aisle, appearing to count passengers,” and “several men spent excessive time in the lavatories.”
“One man rushed to the front of the plane appearing to head for the cockpit. At the last moment, he veered into the first-class lavatory, remaining in it for about 20 minutes,” according to the report. One man carried a McDonald’s bag into the lavatory, and “another man, upon returning from the lavatory, reeked strongly of what smelled like toilet bowl chemicals.”
“Some men hand signaled each other. The passenger who entered the lavatory with the McDonald’s bag made a thumbs-up signal to another man upon returning from the lavatory. Another man made a slashing motion across his throat, appearing to say ‘No.’ ”

I really fail to see how this type of activity can go un-investigated. But not only were these 13 people not detained, but only two were questioned.

The report shows that the Government’s bureaucratic airline “security machine” is in need of repair, and quickly.

View Inspector General Report Here
View The Washington Times Story Here

Tags: Musings //