My bet is that this is where AQAP is going if it attempts another airline bombing; hiding PETN in a body cavity. It is a win-win either way for AQ. A failed or thwarted attempt will bring on even more invasive airport security measures in the US.Originally Posted by Stan
People just will not want to fly if they have to be strip searched, or subjected to a body cavity exam. The economic costs to the US will be significant.
Well, that has already been attempted and literally failed along with his guts being spewed all over the walls.
Sadly, the technology already exists without so-called invasive measures and that techno is nearly 25 years old. It does however require that the individual responsible know what he/she is actually looking at. My point above. I'm not going to hire a trash truck driver to take X-rays at a hospital trauma center, but yet, someone thinks that can be done at airports
Couldn't agree with you more. Don't mind the searching, but flying home at twice the cost and risk some idiot not liking the way I look... No thanks !
If you want to blend in, take the bus
The assassination attempt failed, yes, but the device was smuggled through the security measures required to be in proximity to the Prince. For an airliner they would just have to get through the security measures, for the most part. Conceivably, the device could also be extracted from the body cavity once airborne, and positioned elsewhere.
Yeah, it’s the scale required that is the problem. Getting enough trained and qualified for it to be effective; is that even going to be feasible?Sadly, the technology already exists without so-called invasive measures and that techno is nearly 25 years old. It does however require that the individual responsible know what he/she is actually looking at. My point above. I'm not going to hire a trash truck driver to take X-rays at a hospital trauma center, but yet, someone thinks that can be done at airports
Yes, the "so-called" device was successfully smuggled past Saudi security, but there was no scan performed (according to the sites I access) and it's also apparent that the Suadis let their guard down (something they clearly admitted. A known terrorist being permitted into a secure area and then have relatively easy communications access is stupid IMO). What this however has done is raise our awareness regarding scans much like previous "contents" hidden in shoes and liquids.
I can see this being a real pain and the airlines taking revenue losses, but I can equally see a very expensive aircraft and 250 lost souls being more expensive than a bankruptcy claim. We would then justify minimalistic standards how ?
If you want to blend in, take the bus
I mean in the literal sense, like: we need X amount of qualified personnel, which require Y level of training to be effective, and the number of training cadre available is Z.
How long would it take for Z to train X number of people to the level of Y? Six months, one year, a decade?
I would give each State a year to attain qualified people and each year re-qualify them while qualifying another group, and so on.
How many is enough ? The average is 5 per gate with at least two being instructor qualified. When there's nothing going on, they should be training and when the passengers are piling up, the teams should slow down (the airlines and inspectors are not at fault because the pax are in a rush and thought they could show up 5 minutes before boarding).
We (7 to 8 senior instructors) train on the average 12 people each week at both the harbors and airports. Customs officials are welcome but not required to attend. Because my training days are often Wednesdays I usually see the same 10 to 12 folks. In total this year we have trained over 100 inspectors in 15 different categories (levels if you will) which take into account most of the bad things over the last five years. That's now covered four ports, three border crossings and three airports in as much as 2 to 3 languages with just 7 to 8 people.
The folks that graduated this year are now instructor qualified for CY2011 and will requal this time next year.
Since 2002 we have trained and certified over 750 public and private workers.
In addition, our dog handlers also perform training at the above mentioned locations where EDDs are used. An EDD is trained much like a drug dog and must identify up to eight explosive compounds in order to retain qualification each year. In order to be fair and remain impartial, evaluators cannot be dog handlers.
If someone thinks PETN is not detectable, they are in for a real surprise.
As much as I love watching a German Shepherd go haywire, I really like it when an inspector declares "additional searching is required. Please go with this officer."
In sum, your people, the x-ray and EDDs are all just tools in our kit bag and knowing how and when to employ them is half the battle.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
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