Sat, Sep 25, 2004
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.
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