Lawmaker: Scan The Small Stuff | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.16.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.17.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Mon, Aug 11, 2003

Lawmaker: Scan The Small Stuff

MA Democrat Wants Packages Of A Pound Or More Scanned For Explosives

If Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) has his way, everything that weighs a pound or more will be scanned for explosive traces before it's allowed on an aircraft. Markey who's a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, says the failure to screen small packages is "an unacceptable security risk that must be immediately remedied."

Speaking to reporters at Boston's Logan Field, Markey said of small cargo, "It is unseen and unscreened. It is taken right off these trucks and it is loaded right on to passenger planes right under the feet of passengers who have just taken off their shoes to have them screened."

Markey points to the so-called shoe-bomber, Richard Reid, who carried less than ten ounces of explosives in his tennis shoes in December, 2001, when he boarded an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami (FL). That small amount of explosives, the government says, would have knocked Flight 63 out of the sky. Markey also pointed to the explosives that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people. That little package, he said, contained 11 ounces to a pound of Semtex plastic explosives.

Still, the smaller packages aren't screened. That decision has been based, in part, on research done by the US Postal Service. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Brian Turmail said small U.S. mail packages are not screened because federal studies have concluded that less than a pound of explosives in the cargo area "is not going to bring an aircraft down or threaten passengers."

There is a price tag attached to Markey's demands. The TSA said it would cost $500 million to buy the necessary scanners and train the necessary people to screen all small packages.

FMI: www.tsa.gov

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.15.25): Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach

Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach An approach conducted while operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan which authorizes the pilot of an aircraft to proceed >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.15.25)

“When l became the Secretary of Defense, I committed to rebuild our military to match threats to capabilities. Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.15.25)

Aero Linx: Stearman Restorers Association Welcome to the Stearman Restorers Association. The Stearman Restorers Association is an independent “Not for Profit” 501C-3 Co>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Kjelsrud Gary Kitfox

Airplane Exhibited A Partial Loss Of Engine Power When It Was About Halfway Down The Runway Analysis: The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was departing from his pr>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Cessna A150L

The Flight Path Was Consistent With Low-Altitude Maneuvering On June 18, 2025, about 0922 mountain standard time, a Cessna A150L airplane, N6436F, was substantially damaged when it>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC