Chairman of House aviation subcommittee says screening for explosives absolutely horrendous

Just when you thought the news about the TSA couldn't get any worse, it has. The Homeland Security Department inspector general, Clark Kent Ervin, has delivered a report to Congress that basically says TSA screeners are doing a terrible job of finding weapons and explosives before they get on board the nation's airliners.

The tests that were used to gather the data for the reports' conclusions were done in the second half of 2003, and found that undercover investigators were able to get firearms, box cutters and explosives past TSA screeners at 15 major airports across the nation. The results, according to Kent: "The performance was poor."

Rep. John Mica, R-FL, chairman of a House aviation subcommittee, told USA Today that the classified version of the report talked abot results that were "bnad enough." The results on explosives, however, were "absolutely horrendous." Another report by the GAO issued in 2003 also confirmed that agents were able to bring guns, knives and box cutters onto aircraft without the screeners finding them.

The new report lays the blame squarely on poor training and management of the TSA screeners, and the need for better equipment and technology. Right now, screeners routinely use metal detection equipment on all pax and their carry-on luggage, but the checks for explosives are selective and only applied to a fraction of the pax and bags.  Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, ranking Democrat on the House aviation panel, pointed out the obvious: "You're not going to find plastic explosives with a metal detector, no matter how hard you try."

The TSA contends that since the test ended in November of 2003, improvements have been made. New machines which sniff for explosives while pax walk through them, and others that can detect trace amounts of explosives are being tested at various airports. Screeners have also been given the go-ahead to use physical searches more often in an attempt to find explosives under clothing.  "We're aggressively pursuing all the solutions available to us," TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said.

FMI: www.tsa.gov