Security Roundup

Air Safety Week, Oct 29, 2007

Date: 24-Oct
Incident: Federal Aviation Administration regulations allow airline passengers
to carry small mercury thermometers or barometers on airliners, as long as they
are packaged up in leak proof containers. However a Monday spill of mercury at
the Indianapolis International Airport led to a Tuesday cleanup of the chemical
in the airport's baggage area. The incident happened on Monday afternoon when a
checked bag was being inspected. While the luggage was checked, a substance
spilled from a small container. They examined the chemical and found that it was
mercury, a chemical that can be toxic in high concentrations. It's also deadly
to an aircraft's aluminum skin, so having it leaking from bags in holds could
cause an aircraft to be grounded for lengthy periods and extensive repairs.

Date: 24-Oct
Incident: All Nippon Airways Co said Tuesday a 38-year-old pilot flew an Airbus
A320 after drinking alcohol nine and a half hours before a flight in September
last year in violation of its in-house rules that prohibit crew members from
drinking within 12 hours of a flight. ANA has suspended the captain from flying.
Although the airline did not detect alcohol from the captain during its pre-
flight inspection, it plans to severely punish him, ANA said.

Date: 24-Oct
Incident: 400 people hired this month for jobs at Sea-Tac Airport can't start
work until the Transportation Security Administration completes new background
checks. Workers hired for cargo and baggage handling, as well as restaurants in
secure areas, need to pass a regular criminal background check plus a new
terrorism database search. "The new process is not working," Airports Council
International President Greg Principato said in a letter Thursday to TSA chief
Kip Hawley. "Businesses are contemplating shutting down because of the inability
to bring on new employees." A TSA spokeswoman, Ellen Howe, says the new process
takes time but the agency won't back down on vetting people. The new background
check also applies to about 16,000 existing Sea-Tac workers. Before Oct. 1, the
TSA ran its background check after someone started working at an airport. It
would order ID cards revoked for those found to be problematic.

Date: 23-Oct
Incident: At least one pilot in airline Wideroe ( Norwegian airline ) has opted
for early retirement rather than continue to endure the security routines at
Norwegian airports. The head of Wideroe's pilot union confirmed this to
newspaper Adresseavisen. A captain chose to retire early primarily because of
what he called "security madness. He is happy to be retired and finished with
this. This is a marked contrast to some years ago when pilots were sad to give
up their dream jobs when they passed 60." A few days ago a Wideroe pilot delayed
a departure from Namsos for refusing to take off his shoes in a security check,
and reportedly screamed - 'I am no terrorist!'. This problem is most acute on
the short hop networks where pilots and other crew may have to go through
security checks up to ten times a day, all year round, even if their exit and
re-entry is due to a trip to the toilet or to get a cup of coffee. The Norwegian
Airline Pilots Association believes that flight crews should have separate
arrangements, like cust

Date: 22-Oct
Incident: The screening area at Dulles International Airport was evacuated
Monday afternoon after a suspicious package was found. The package was found
just after 3 p.m. near the security screening area. People were not allowed
through the screening area. Security closed the entire ticketing area, in the
terminal's upper level; that was evacuated while they investigated the package.
At about 4:15, investigations determined the package was safe and allowed
everyone back inside. Inbound flights were allowed to land during the
evacuation, and those passengers were allowed through. Outbound flights were
delayed.

Date: 22-Oct
Incident: Reports show that passenger screeners at two of the nation's busiest
airports, in Los Angeles and Chicago, failed more than 60 percent of the time to
detect bombs and bomb parts smuggled in the carry-on luggage and clothing of
undercover agents testing airport security. According to a classified report by
the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) screeners at Los Angeles International
Airport missed about 75 percent of the hidden bomb materials packed in everyday
carry-on luggage. At Chicago's O'Hare International, the failure rate was about
60 percent. Even when the failure rate was only 20 percent, as at San Francisco
International Airport, the implication is clear -- U.S. commercial flights
remain vulnerable to a determined terrorist.

Date: 22-Oct
Incident: The TSA has awarded a contract to Reveal Imaging Technologies for up
to 40 of its Fusion security systems. The systems utilize X-rays and 3-D imaging
and will be used to scan carry-on bags for weapons and contraband. The contract
could be worth up to $80 million over two years. The Fusion systems use X-ray
technology to scan for explosives materials as well as 3D imaging to scan for
weapons and other concealed prohibited items.

Date: 20-Oct
Incident: A US citizen was briefly detained in Bolivia after arriving on an
American Airlines flight from Miami with 500 bullets in her luggage, the state
news agency reported. The woman, identified as Din Dona Thin, 20, had become
nervous when taken to have her bags searched on arrival late on Wednesday,
telling staff she was only carrying cheese. "Last night at El Alto Airport, a
female was intercepted, coming from Miami, on an American Airlines plane,
carrying five boxes of bullets, each one containing 100 .45-caliber bullets,"
national immigrations director Magaly Zegarra said. A Bolivian judge told
reporters the American woman had been released on Thursday because no offense
had been committed under the country's laws.

Date: 20-Oct
Incident: A man on an arriving flight from Tampa Saturday night didn't make his
connecting flight out of Charlotte N.C. He'd been traveling with an untreated
bullet wound sustained during a domestic dispute. During the 90-minute flight,
he told a flight attendant that he had been shot and asked for a Band-Aid -- but
he wanted to continue on to his final destination of Albany NY. The Medic
Service responded and took him to Carolinas Medical Center by ambulance. Medic
said the man's condition was "life-threatening" but he was conscious as he was
being wheeled away on a stretcher. It's unclear how the wounded man got through
airport security in Tampa.

Date: 19-Oct
Incident: Thousands of protesters stormed Bolivia's busiest airport on Friday as
rightist opposition groups fought the government of President Evo Morales for
control of the country's main air hub. The airport in the country's wealthy
eastern region was shut down for part of Friday due to the protests but
restarted operations in the afternoon, local media reported. The military
occupied the airport on government orders after several airlines, including
American Airlines and Brazil's Gol, suspended flights complaining airport
officials demanded cash payments for landing rights. Government officials say
the levies were illegal, but Santa Cruz civic leaders argue that sending in the
army was out of proportion with the problem.

Date: 16-Oct
Incident: Another airport has opted for Private Screeners. It's only a tiny
airport, but the Sonoma County airport in California is the newest member of
TSA's Screening Partnership Program. As provided for by the legislation setting
up TSA, airports since 2004 have been free to opt out of TSA-provided screening
and choose a TSA-certified contractor instead. Besides the original five
airports that were part of a pilot program, the others that have opted out are
Sioux Falls, SD; Key West and Marathon, FL; and New York's 34th Street Heliport.