AIA Urges Action to Enhance Aviation Security

At a recent speech before the American Bar Association's Forum on Air and Space Law, AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey outlined ways to enhance security for aviation passengers.

Blakey urged international leadership on common security standards and using existing U.S. legislation to protect the developers of new security technology.

She discussed three ways in which the aviation community can act to enhance security for every passenger - before a terrorist reaches the aircraft.

"First, there needs to be international leadership on common security standards. Second, we must use existing U.S. legislation to protect the developers of new technology. Finally, let's revise our export control regime to enable greater sharing of useful security measures," the former FAA administrator stated.

She believes ICAO can set a security baseline for countries and recommend what other measures should be taken to enhance security - including risk assessment, behavioral screening and trace detection technology.

"In a meeting with DHS Secretary Napolitano, European Union officials agreed to accelerate the drafting of a common strategy with the United States to improve airline security. Napolitano stressed that 'unity of effort' was more important than agreement on specific technologies.

"A committee of European Union safety experts met in Brussels and agreed there was a need for a unified approach on enhancing security. But there is division on the issue o scanners. This dissent in Europe alone - Britain and Italy say yes; Belgium, Spain and Germany have reservations - would seem to argue for someone taking charge of the issue. That body should be ICAO. The point is, with leadership from ICAO -- as demonstrated with safety rules -- we can achieve uniform security screening standards" Blakely believes.

Civil Lawsuit Over Arabic Flash Cards

A college student studying Arabic says he was wrongly detained for almost five hours last summer after an airport screener found his Arabic-English flash cards and a book critical of U.S. foreign policy. The student has filed suit in federal court against the Transportation Security Administration, the Philadelphia Police Department and the FBI. He says he was handcuffed and "abusively interrogated" by authorities at Philadelphia International. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, alleges officials violated his Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable seizure and First Amendment rights to free speech.

Dead Stowaway on Delta Air Flight

A body was found in a landing gear wheel well of a jetliner that flew to Tokyo's Narita Airport from New York. Lack of oxygen or hypothermia is believed to have killed the stowaway aboard the Delta Air Lines Boeing 777. The corpse of a man with no identification was discovered on Feb. 7. Flight 59 originated at New York's Kennedy International. At least seven incidents of wheel-well stowaways have occurred in the past decade, all but one ending in death. International flights typically cruise at altitudes at or above 30,000 feet. Temperatures at that altitude can plummet to 50 degrees below zero or colder.

Airport Police Seek Man with Stuffed Animal

Police are looking for a man carrying a stuffed animal who fled a Delta Airlines building just outside Minneapolis-St. Paul International Feb. 9 after an employee asked him for identification. When challenged, the man presented the stuffed animal and said, "This is all you need to see," according to airport officials. Airport police notified the Transportation Security Administration and worked with Delta security officials to look for the individual in and around the building, but he was not found. Airport police stepped up patrols around the building and the airfield but saw no sign of the individual. He was carrying a stuffed animal with a leopard print. While it was not believed the man gained access to an adjoining hangar, airport canine explosives detection teams were brought in to check the aircraft before they left the hangar. No explosives were found. It is not know whether the individual was someone with access rights to the building.

Shoeless Joe

It is reported that a man wearing a Delta Airlines employee badge ran barefoot from authorities after he was selected for a 'pat down' screening at Los Angeles International. The man may have been trying to smuggle illegal drugs past a security checkpoint inside Terminal 5. The man left behind his shoes and a carry-on bag, but grabbed a wrapped package as he ran from the terminal. The barefoot man then departed the airport in a taxi.

LAX Scores Low Crime Levels

Major crime continues to be almost non-existent at Los Angeles International (LAX), according to 2009 statistics released today by Los Angeles Airport Police. In the category of Part-I Crime, which includes all major categories of crime against persons, there was only one robbery reported in 2009 compared to two in 2008. There were no aggravated assaults reported in 2009, compared to five in 2008. No homicides or rapes were reported in 2009 or 2008. The number of arrests increased 11 percent from 1,263 in 2008 to 1,407 in 2009. Los Angeles Airport Police Chief George Centeno said, "LAX continues to be one of the safest airports in the world." He added, "The total number of major crimes against persons is remarkably low, given over 56.5 million travelers used LAX last year. Including non-traveling visitors and airport workers, we estimate 209,000 people passed through LAX on an average day." Numerous arrests were made for theft and narcotics violations at the federal passenger security screening stations.