Fri, Nov 17, 2006
Firm Tracked Undercover Agents
Here's a surefire way to improve
your job performance stats... it appears screeners at San Francisco
International have been getting a heads up from the Transportation
Security Administration before security inspections.
San Francisco television station KVSU-2 reports undercover
agents were checking to see how well screeners detected weapons and
bombs. SFO uses private security firm Covenant Aviation Security,
with special congressional approval.
A former Covenant employee told investigators in February 2005
the firm's management was warned ahead of time about the
inspections, allowing them to track undercover testers as they made
their way through the airport. The Associated Press obtained a copy
of a government report confirming those allegations.
The company used surveillance cameras to track the undercover
agents, and warned screeners as they approached checkpoints. Those
inspections occurred between August of 2003 and May 2004, according
to the TSA inspector general.
The inspector general's office also found one security breach at
SFO that TSA officials did not report... but found no evidence of
malicious intent in the oversight.
And the aftermath? Covenant management ordered the practice oof
monitoring inspectors stopped... and the TSA says that's good
enough for them.
"We've taken the measures necessary to ensure something like
this can never happen again," said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez.
In related news... the TSA renewed Covenant's contract to watch
over SFO last month.
More News
With Testing Soon Complete, Launch Preparations Begin in Earnest Sierra Space's Dream Chaser has been put through the wringer at NASA's Glenn Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio, but w>[...]
Takeoff Roll The process whereby an aircraft is aligned with the runway centerline and the aircraft is moving with the intent to take off. For helicopters, this pertains to the act>[...]
“We’re proud of the hard work that went into receiving this validation, and it will be a welcome relief to our customers in the European Union. We couldn’t be mor>[...]
"Aircraft Spruce is pleased to announce the acquisition of the parts distribution operations of Wag-Aero. Wag-Aero was founded in the 1960’s by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the >[...]
IDENT Feature The special feature in the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) equipment. It is used to immediately distinguish one displayed beacon target from other be>[...]