Mon, Nov 10, 2003
And The TSA Thinks Its Great
Testimony of Stephen McHale, Deputy Administrator,
Transportation Security Administration, in a Congressional hearing
last week:
Between September 2002
and October 2003 our Office of Internal Affairs and Program Review
(OIAPR) conducted 847 checkpoint and 2,737 airport security access
tests, as well as computer assisted passenger prescreening (CAPPS)
and checked baggage tests at 107 airports. We are conducting covert
testing at over three times the annual rate of the old FAA "red
teams," and our testing uses more difficult, realistic testing
situations. Although TSA cannot discuss the results of our tests in
detail in this setting, results have shown an improvement of
approximately 10 percent from September 2002 to August 2003
TSA is making plans for delivering high-speed connectivity to
all TSA locations within airports across the country. This will
provide access to real-time training on current threats,
connectivity with checked baggage areas, and will establish a
foundation for planned implementations of additional
administrative, surveillance, CAPPS II, and other security
enhancements.
TSA is moving forward with the development of the
second-generation Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
(CAPPS II), which will help us to focus our screening resources
where they will be most effective. CAPPS II is yet another layer in
our system of systems to address a continuum of security threats
with minimal impact on airline customers and operations. CAPPS II
is intended to identify terrorists and other high-risk individuals
before they board commercial airplanes.
CAPPS II will conduct a risk assessment of each passenger using
national security information and information provided by
passengers during the reservation process-including name, date of
birth, home address and home phone number, and provide a "risk
score" to TSA. The "risk score" includes an "authentication score"
provided by running passenger name record (PNR) data against
commercial databases to indicate a confidence level in each
passenger's identity. CAPPS II will be a threat-based system under
the direct control of the Federal Government and will represent a
major improvement over the decentralized, airline-controlled system
currently in place.
CAPPS II would not
retain data on U.S. passengers who are permitted to fly.
Information would be stored only for a sufficient time to assess
that a U.S. traveler is who he or she claims to be and to evaluate
Government information related to terrorist threats and practices.
Information would not be kept after completion of the traveler's
reserved itinerary, apart from a necessary audit trail that would
not be searchable by passenger name or other personal
identifier.
More News
Chart Supplement U.S. A flight information publication designed for use with appropriate IFR or VFR charts which contains data on all airports, seaplane bases, and heliports open t>[...]
Aero Linx: EUROCONTROL EUROCONTROL is a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation. Our expertise spans research, development, operations a>[...]
“The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of the penguin on-board... the cyclic pitch control lever a>[...]
From 2016 (YouTube Edition): What's Holding YOU Back From Your Dream Of Flight? While at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo 2016, ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, shares a conv>[...]
Also: Spirit CEO Resigns, ‘Mental Health in Aviation’, U-2 Dragon Lady, Elixir Delivers Unither Bioelectronics announced that its modified Robinson R44 helicopter made >[...]