Air Safety Week's Breach Report

Air Safety Week,  April 24, 2006  

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DATE & SITE: October 2004 to May 2005 -- Sydney Int'l Airport (SYD)
AREA*: 5
CIRCUMSTANCES: Two security cameras were deliberately pointed in the wrong
direction on three separate occasions.
RESULT: News of the breaches broke in early April from opposition leader Labor
MP John Murphy, based on information he received from a customs official.
Specifically, the cameras were set pointing away from the scanning machines,
conveyers, and workers.  Editor's note: Althouth the reason for the camera
tampering was not made clear, it could have been related to illegal drug
transport or the smuggling of other items. Last year at SYD, it also came to
light that several security personnel had tampered with the contents of luggage.

DATE & SITE: April 5 -- Don Muang Int[sup.3]l Airport (BKK), Bangkok, Thailand
AREA*: 5
CIRCUMSTANCES: Police said they broke up a gang that was stealing from luggage
and selling the goods to local department stores.
RESULT: There was no indication whether any gang members or how many of them had
been arrested, exactly how or where they operated, and whether there was any
collusion among airport or customs officials. As one local news account put it,
the press release issued by aviation authorities and the police "was almost free
of facts."

DATE & SITE: April 8 -- Kobe Airport (UKB), Japan
AREA*: 8
CIRCUMSTANCES: A man drove his SUV through the perimeter fence.
RESULT: The man then made a series of sudden stops and starts around several
parked aircraft before being arrested. One departing flight was delayed for a
few minutes.

DATE & SITE: April 10 -- Melbourne Int'l Airport (MLB), Australia
AREA*: 3
CIRCUMSTANCES: X-ray revealed a pocket knife in a carry-on, but the passenger
left the checkpoint with the bag.
RESULT: The Virgin Blue terminal was briefly evacuated and passengers were re-
screened. Ten domestic flights were delayed between 30 minutes and an hour
during the morning rush, with all flights returning to normal by 7:45 a.m. local
time.

DATE & SITE: April 11 -- Tulsa Int'l Airport (TUL), Okla.
AREA*: 3
CIRCUMSTANCES: A passenger went through a checkpoint's exit lane and avoided the
screening process.
RESULT: Concourse B was closed for about an hour after the incident at 5:50 a.m.
local time. About a dozen flights were delayed. Airport officials initially
supposed that the breach was inadvertent because the wayward passenger simply
could have become confused by construction in the area. Editor's note: Would-be
terrorists are probably taking note that construction zones could make their
next operations more effective.

DATE & SITE: April 11 -- Dublin Airport (DUB), Irish Republic
AREA*: 3
CIRCUMSTANCES: An airport security worker let an official pass quickly through a
checkpoint who  flashed a badge at her, but it was the wrong type of badge.
RESULT: The official was actually a Department of Transport inspector, who
immediately reported the incident. Only officers of An Garda Siochana, Ireland's
national police service, are permitted to pass unchecked through airport
security. Officials told local press that the incident was  a ''procedural''
breach, and the security worker was assigned to some re-training.  Editor's
note: The airport is still trying to overcome a blow to its reputation that
occurred just about a year ago, when the report of a pre-announced Department
investigation revealed inspectors successfully making many kinds of breaches.

DATE & SITE: April 15 -- Newark Liberty Int'l Airport (EWR), N.J.
AREA*: 5
CIRCUMSTANCES: A passenger found a large white shirt with badges, appearing to
be part of a TSA uniform, in her checked bag.
RESULT: The passenger, Debra Sander, flew JetBlue from Newark to Tampa Int'l
Airport (TPA) in Florida. A few days later, TSA offered an explanation,
apparently to the press but not to her, saying that the incident occurred in a
checked bag screening room that's one of the airport's "more challenging" work
spaces because it resembles "Dante's inferno." TSA deduced that one of its
employee removed his shirt, as TSA allows employes to do in this particular area
because it is not in view of passengers, and the shirt fell off a hook and into
the bag.  Editor's note: Sander later clarified that her bag had been
"ransacked," and that DHS initially denied to her that anything happened. She
also pointed out that someone else could have grabbed the shirt and impersonated
a TSA employee and made another, new breach attempt.

DATE & SITE: April 15 -- Chiang Kai Shek Int'l Airport (TPE), Taipei, Tiawan
AREA*: 4
CIRCUMSTANCES: An arriving Vietnamese man, detained for questioning, eluded
customs personnel and left the airport.
RESULT: Airport police said suspicions were raised when the man's visa documents
did not match his stated reasons for visiting Taiwan. He initially escaped while
security personnel were looking another way, officials said. There were no
further reports of the incident.  Editor's note: A woman accompanying the man
was immediately detained for questioning, and officials promised to punish lax
security personnel. The Vietnamese man could face up to three years in jail and
a fine of $90,000 in New Taiwan Dollars (nearly $2,800 U.S.).