Thu, Oct 30, 2003
This Time, There's No Email Explanation
When college student Nat Heatwole left box cutters, Play-doh, and
bleach aboard a couple Southwest Airways 737s last Summer, he sent
an email to the TSA, explaining that he had done so. The TSA
seemingly ignored his note, which surfaced after SWA
employees found the contraband. Then, the TSA and FBI said they
knew all along, without offering any reason why the illegal cargo
was left aboard the flights for five weeks...
Now, there's another
scare, this time on US Airways planes. The FBI and TSA are
really puzzled this time, though, because the perp apparently
hasn't told them about his (or her) acts. These crimes may never be
solved...
At any rate, on Tuesday, a US Airways Express flight crew in
Boston found a box cutter. The plane had arrived without passengers
from Rockland (ME). After the knife was turned over to security,
the flight was allowed to leave for its next rendezvouz in Syracuse
(NY).
Also on Tuesday, a passenger found a box cotter tucked in the
seat-back pouch of a Phoenix-bound US Airways flight, a
quarter-hour before the plane was to have left for Phoenix. The TSA
had the eighty or so PAX get off the plane [no mention was made of
what happened to the crew --ed.], and
go once again through 'security,' which,
once again, didn't find anything bad among them. That plane
had arrived from Houston.
There are several possible explanations:
- the knives were smuggled aboard by PAX, perhaps to demonstrate
how well security is working, a la Nathaniel Heatwole
- the knives were smuggled aboard by terrorists, who forgot to
use them
- the knives were left by airline or airport workers
(although that's not really an 'explanation')
- the knives were smuggled aboard by the TSA's 'Red Teams,' who
then left them there on purpose 'to test the cleaning crews'
- the knives had been aboard the aircraft since before September
11, 2001, when it was OK to bring them aboard
The FBI and TSA are figuring out which story line might be the
most likely to succeed, as airline crews and passengers continue to
provide the best security of all ...and why not? The
certifiably-disarmed crews and PAX have the most to lose.
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