Date Incident 08 Feb Police say a Somali woman charged with trying to hijack Air New Zealand flight 2279 wanted to go to Australia. The 33-year-old allegedly threatened to blow up the 19-seat plane and stabbed two pilots in the cockpit - one in the hand and the other in the foot. Police say she claimed two...
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Police say a Somali woman charged with trying to hijack Air New Zealand flight 2279 wanted to go to Australia. The 33-year-old allegedly threatened to blow up the 19-seat plane and stabbed two pilots in the cockpit - one in the hand and the other in the foot. Police say she claimed two bombs were on the twin-engine Jetstream aircraft, which was travelling from the South Island town of Blenheim, but none have been found. The woman appeared in court on Saturday to face charges of hijacking and wounding with intent. Hijacking carries a maximum sentence in New Zealand of life imprisonment. The woman, who lives in Blenheim, and another passenger received minor cuts and were treated at the airport. Seven people were on the plane, including a Victorian man. Superintendent Dave Cliff says the woman was tampering with the aircraft's controls while the pilots were trying to land. "The aircraft landing was somewhat rough because of weather conditions here at Christchurch Airport," he said. "She ended up falling away from the controls and remained away during the actual landing." "During the flight, demands were allegedly made by the suspect to take the flight to Australia," Superintendent Dave Cliff said. Superintendent Cliff has praised the pilots for landing the plane safely in an intense and difficult situation. Witnesses have told TVNZ that police and dog teams pulled the woman off the plane, while she was kicking and screaming, and tackled her to the ground on the tarmac. They say the passengers then ran off the plane. "People scurried to get off the plane," a male witness said. "They were immediately told to hit the ground. The cops had their guns drawn and then they brought dogs out. The dogs went onto the plane." Police say they found a knife on the tarmac near the aircraft and another on the woman. Flights to and from Christchurch were suspended for two hours and the domestic terminal was evacuated while the plane was searched. The pilots were taken to Christchurch Hospital. One has undergone successful surgery to his hand, while the other has been discharged. Air New Zealand is reviewing its security systems after the incident. There is no cockpit door or barrier in the plane to separate passengers from the cockpit. Passengers taking domestic flights out of Blenheim airport are not subject to security checks, and hand luggage is not scanned.
06 Feb
Pilots flying over Oahu are being greeted with annoying and potentially-dangerous beams of light. The Federal Aviation Administration blames laser pointers in a string of new cases. The FAA received three reports of incidents in which a ground-based laser beam was aimed at aircraft approaching or departing Honolulu. "That is a relatively large number of incidents in a short period of time," Ian Gregor, FAA spokesperson, said. "It's not unheard of for people to light up planes on the islands with lasers. But typically, we don't see three of them in seven days." Two of the laser incidents happened over East Oahu and the third was on the West side. "The FAA is very concerned about these irresponsible acts because even a small laser pointer can temporarily impair a pilot's vision," Gregor said. "And that could be very serious if it occurs when the pilot is in the very critical landing or taking off phase of flight." The FAA calls it a growing problem. In 2005, there were about 290 reports of lasers being shined at aircraft across the US. In 2006, the number soared to about 400. It climbed to about 420 in the first nine-and-a-half months of 2007. At what point banning action on lasers or registration of buyers will occur is unknown - but under discussion. Restriction of laser-pointers to those who can demonstrate a requirement to own one would be a logical first step.
06 Feb
An Indian court jailed three men for life for their role in the eight day hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999.Abdul Latif and Dalip Bhujail, both Indian nationals, and Yusuf Nepali, from Nepal, were convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder following an eight year trial, said B.S. Sodhi, their lawyer. The court in Patiala in Punjab state said the men, who are known by several aliases, supplied weapons and fake passports to the hijackers. Five armed men hijacked an Airbus A300 carrying 189 passengers and crew between Kathmandu and New Delhi on Christmas Eve in 1999. The plane touched down in western India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates before landing in Kandahar in Afghanistan. he hijackers killed one passenger early in the week-long stand-off, but the remaining passengers and crew walked free after India released three Kashmir separatist militants from jail. India said the hijackers were all Pakistani and accused Pakistan's government of complicity in the hijacking, charges it denied. The two neighbors have twice gone to war over who should rule the Himalayan region of Kashmir. The hijackers fled and have never been caught. British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, one of the freed militants, was later convicted and sentenced to death by a Pakistani court for his role in the murder in 2002 of Daniel Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. The three men convicted on Tuesday will appeal against the judgement, their lawyer said.
06 Feb
Australia's Government has agreed to provide an assistance package to Indonesia to help the country improve its transport safety and security. The Australian minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government, Anthony Albanese, signed a formal agreement with Indonesia last week covering the assistance package. In a statement Min Albanese said that Australia will provide nearly A$24 million ($22 million) over three years to help train up to 40 Indonesian airworthiness inspectors, help improve air traffic management services and provide advice in accident investigations, among other things. The assistance deal stems from several nasty air accidents last year, which ultimately led European and US authorities to downgrade the country's aviation safety rating. Australia has provided assistance to Indonesia in the past, such as helping to train aviation security officers to improve screening at key airports.
06 Feb
New boutique luggage shipping companies now offer harried travelers an alternative to paying airlines to transport checked bags. United Airlines recently announced a new gouge whereby it will start charging travelers for checking a second bag. The airline said soaring fuel costs forced it to add the fee and noted that just 25% of its customers check a second bag. It expects the fee, which amounts to $50 per round-trip economy-class ticket, to generate about $100 million in additional revenue. The fee is likely to be copied by other legacy airlines, airline consultant Terry Trippler says. "They (United) are the first, but they certainly won't be the last," said Trippler. It should be noted that specialized luggage firms offer personal service, but may charge more than $200, depending on the shipper and the speed of delivery.
06 Feb
A Dutch journalist smuggled a fake bomb and drugs onto airliners at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to demonstrate weaknesses at Europe's fourth- busiest air travel hub, he said. Alberto Stegeman, an investigative journalist whose report on the security fiasco was aired on Dutch television channel SBS 6 on Wednesday, said an associate took a job at Schiphol as a baggage handler. "When you work there, you can do anything," Stegeman said. Stegeman said he used his accomplice's uniform and credentials to smuggle a fake bomb, complete with a digital timer and fake explosive blocks, onto an airliner. Over a three month period, they were also able to take drugs into flight cabins and other areas of planes because gate personnel always allowed overalled workers into the airplanes. The Dutch Opposition party called for a parliamentary debate last week to discuss the breaches at Schiphol.
06 Feb
An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Logan International Airport after a passenger assaulted a flight attendant on board. American Airlines Flight 44, originating from New York and en route to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, was diverted to Logan's runway 4-R at approximately 8:10 p.m, according to Phil Orlandella of the Massachusetts Port Authority. "An unruly passenger struck a flight attendant while on board, but no one was badly injured," Orlandella said. "The unruly passenger has been identified as 21-year-old Conde Ansoumane, a French citizen who has been taken into custody," said Lt. Eric Anderson of the state police's Office of Media Relations. The 767 was carrying 136 passengers.
05 Feb
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., has asked the TSA for a progress report on the creation of an independent verification process that will be used to identify passengers who claim to be police officers and try to fly armed. Currently, passengers must present a photo ID identifying themselves as a law enforcement officer and a letter from their agency in order to pass through security with their weapon. The anomaly surfaced after Mayor Frank Melton of Jackson, Mississippi was allowed to bring his personal firearms with him on flights by presenting a gold police badge and a letter from former Police Chief Shirlene Anderson identifying him as a law enforcement official. The TSA put a stop to these misrepresentations (and Melton's armed flights) early in 2006, but the regulations remain unchanged. In 2004, Congress ordered TSA to develop a "biometric" verification process that uses fingerprints or retinal scans to verify the identity of armed passengers claiming to be law enforcement officers, but that system still has not been completed.
03 Feb
The vast majority of aircraft flying into Ireland isn't being checked for drugs or contraband. This is particularly the case with flights into the country's private airports where there is no customs presence or where customs have to be called out about flights arriving from overseas. Despite claims by the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen and the Revenue Commissioners that customs controls are adequate, customs sources have revealed that the number of customs investigators has fallen since the removal of the internal EU borders. A considerable number of officers have been transferred from investigations to other deskbound duties within the Revenue Commissioners, many on desk work. It is understood that of the 20 private airports which can accommodate flights from abroad, 12 are listed as having no customs presence or only having a customs presence when required prior notification is given. Irish Aviation Authority figures also indicate that there are now between 250,000 and 300,000 flights into Ireland each year now.
02 Feb
As the Rev. Sam Childers passed through security at a Maryland airport, TSA personnel checked one of his boxes. Security confiscated three quarts of motor oil, two bottles of diesel conditioner and a can of WD-40 from him. He claimed to need these items for generators and trucks at the orphanage, because he couldn't buy them in Sudan. The oil that's available in the country is not the right weight. The pastor is now facing $28,000 in fines from the FAA for taking hazardous materials on a plane -- but he says he isn't paying. "Four of the five were not hazardous fire rated materials," he said. "The people at the airlines have no idea of any of the laws." Three months later, he received a letter stating he would be fined $28,000 for the confiscated items. AllTrans Pack, of Virginia, came to his defense, stating the oil and diesel fluid conditioner were not hazardous materials, but conceded the WD-40 in the aerosol could have presented a low level risk. The company runs a hazardous goods training school. The FAA then said Childers would have to pay $14,000 for the WD-40. Childers' orphanage serves 1,500 meals a day and paying the fine would take food out of the kids' mouths, Childers said. There are 235 children housed at the orphanage, with 46 people working in the field. There is also a nursery school and a clinic on the premises. Money collected from fines from "civil penalties" goes into the FAA general fund. safetravel.dot.gov/index.html is a site to check to see what travelers can (and cannot) take on a plane.
01 Feb
Apparently SWA was the airline of choice for a drug ring that moved over $13 million of cocaine: See tinyurl.com/3dupbp . "The stealth venture operated from 2004 to 2006 and may have continued well into 2007 if not for one major misstep: Southwest Airlines' corporate security noticed someone booked more than 550 flights using the same frequent-flyer account. That sent up a red flag to the airline personnel, worried about abuse of their frequent-flyer "Rapid Rewards" program." The couriers made up the backbone of a drug ring that moved the cocaine from Los Angeles to Cleveland, Memphis and Pittsburgh, federal prosecutors and investigators say. The group was brought down following an eight-month investigation, resulting in 24 convictions. The tale of the group's downfall is laid out in reams of plea agreements, court documents, trial testimony and interviews with federal agents. For at least three years, the drug ring put nearly a ton of cocaine on the streets, plus PCP and marijuana. It produced serious cash for drug-trade veterans and a quick payday for novice couriers.
31 Jan
Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) has launched a new website at http://www.aci-na.org intended to provide comprehensive information about airports to the general public, policymakers, media and its airport and associate members. The new site provides general information on airports in sections called Hot Topics, Airports & You, Issues, and Today's News. Anyone can Ask ACI-NA a question about airports and the response will be posted on the site. Airports and companies that provide services to airports will appreciate the information contained in sections like Airport Toolbox, and Business Intelligence, which includes links to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to support airport projects, new airline route listings, monthly airline traffic reports and job postings. The TSA has also launched a new blog designed to get feedback on airport security matters from travelers. The TSA says it will incorporate the feedback from the blog, at http://www.tsa.gov/blog, into the checkpoint process.
31 Jan
A pilots' union in Canada supports the US ALPA's advocacy for installing secondary barriers to prevent unimpeded access to cockpits when the door is necessarily opened. The union says the "gate" would keep the cockpit secure when pilots leave to get food or take a break. Canadian authorities have not acted on the recommendation, but some carriers, including United Airlines, already have secondary barriers in their cockpits. Many North American airlines have instructed flight attendants to position a beverage cart diagonally across the aisle when the cockpit door is open during flight. But ALPA's paper said such precautions "do not establish a predictably reliable system capable of significantly slowing and deterring a hijacker. Last July, the Air Line Pilots Association International (IFALPA) called on Canadian and American authorities to require secondary barriers on all airliners by 2010.
30 Jan
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration claims its "Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques" or SPOT program has been so successful, it plans this year to double the 600 "behavioural detection officers" patrolling concourses and departure lounges for unusual, anxious or otherwise "suspicious" passenger behaviour. Without revealing details, the TSA says the officers are trained to discount the typical nervousness, anger and confusion that many travellers legitimately experience. And it insists the officers do not use ethnic, racial or religious profiling. After June's botched terrorist attack at Glasgow's airport, the British government announced it will also be introducing a hi-tech version of the concept. At the urging of the national security committee of the Air Line Pilots Association International and others, Transport Canada is researching what it calls "behaviour pattern recognition" and says it is "interested in learning more . . . and especially (the) legal implications for it in a Canadian context." Israel has been doing it in a high profile for years, however other nations have been "surveiling" passenger groups in an informalized, covert fashion.
30 Jan
Oakland International Airport officials broke no rules or laws when they directed to a remote corner of the airfield a charter plane ferrying military personnel from Iraq, a U.S. Transportation Department inquiry found. The diversion, which airport authorities said was based on security concerns, caused the more than 200 soldiers and marines to spend a two-hour layover Sept. 27 between Iraq and Hawaii on the tarmac rather than inside a passenger terminal. The incident troubled two influential congressmen and some conservative commentators, including Fox News Channel's John Gibson, who called it an "appalling reception of our men and women from the U.S. military." Florida Rep. John Mica, the top Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Fox the incident was "a real slap in the face to our troops," and asked the Transportation Department's inspector general to investigate. According to DOT Inspector General Calvin L. Scovell III, a breakdown in communications between the Department of Defense and Homeland Security officials resulted in the 27 Sep 07 screw-up.
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