Tiffany Network Again Reports General Aviation Is National
Security Threat
From the CBS Evening News broadcast Monday, March 14th,
2005...
Bob Schieffer, Anchor: Well, we've learned to
take off our shoes, remove the metal objects from our pockets and
endure the endless lines at the metal detectors. But for all the
time and inconvenience, for all the money spent to make us safer,
the government says there are still gaping holes in air travel
security. Aviation is still a prime target for a terror attack.
Here's CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr in Washington.
Bob Orr, Reporter: Since September 11th, more
than $12 billion has been spent to protect US airports, planes and
people from another terrorist attack. Bags and passengers are being
screened for explosives. Jetliners are flying with reinforced
cockpits and thousands of new air marshals. Despite all that, a new
report from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warns
airliners remain a target and a platform for terrorists. And the
worry doesn't end with big jets. Confirming a danger CBS News
revealed a year ago, the report says terrorists may also find small
aircraft attractive, because of their availability and destructive
potential. But Phil Boyer, who represents pilots of small planes,
questions the risk.
Orr, in interview with
Phil Boyer, President, AOPA: Small planes, certainly you
would agree, present some opportunity if somebody wants to do
something bad.
Boyer: I would say a small plane puts no more
opportunity before a terrorist than a car or a boat or anything
that has that size and weight.
Orr: Small planes have not been used in terror
attacks. But incidents have raised security questions. After 9/11,
a student pilot in Florida stole a small plane and crashed it into
a Tampa skyscraper. That was three years ago, yet there are still
no government regulations that all small planes be locked and all
airports secured.
Boyer: We can't fence every airport. Our
estimate is, it would be a $30 billion bill.
Orr: And, three years later, the government has
still not completed a national threat assessment. Security
officials admit, it doesn't know if enough attention is being paid
to small airports.
Michael Chertoff, Secretary, Department of Homeland
Security: Going back to the 9/11 plot, we knew there was a
period of time that the hijackers were looking at crop dusters. So,
again, no one mode of transportation should get attention to the
exclusion of everything else.
Orr: Security
officials say they know of no specific threat against any sector of
US aviation, large or small. But at the same time, intelligence
suggests al Qaeda remains fascinated by airplanes -- and dedicated
to probing the system for weaknesses. Bob?
Schieffer: You know, Bob, what strikes me about
this is we're saying that the government has not yet concluded a
threat assessment. What's going to happen after this report? Now we
know about this, but what'll be done about it?
Orr: Well, as a practical matter, there's not
enough money, not enough manpower or resources to secure all those
small airports. There are 17,000 of them. As much as anything, this
is just a call for vigilance, Bob, by pilots and the public.
Schieffer: Okay, Bob, thanks very much.
FMI: Bob Orr's Report