Airlines Flunk Safety But Passengers Try To Enjoy Strip Searches



Airline pilots and passengers are completely at odds over perceived safety of the airlines . A recent report card issues by the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations gave the airlines a resounding "F" on various aspects of airline safety. Meanwhile, 80-95 percent of passengers thought the airlines had improved security to the point where they felt safe.

So an "F" for safety and an "A" for the placebo effect, as Americans apparently feel being routinely patted down, de-shod and poked at with a "security wand" means the airlines are safer. Of course the pilots are in a better position to know the true state of affairs with respect to security, and they didn't even bother to throw the airlines a "feel-good" D for effort.

According to the report, airline security is impressively bad considering billions have been spent since 2001, and we seem to be no safer now than we were then. This ought to be obvious to anyone who has gone through airport security in a non-cadaver state.

Airport screeners are busy, all right. They're busy patting people down and using their Magic Nail Clipper Detection Wands to ensure that no potential terrorists board the plane with anything sharper than a tennis ball. (Although I suspect Venus Williams armed with a racket and ball could take down a plane if she really wanted to.)

Problem is, airport screeners seem primarily interested in the following categories of people: 1) The elderly, 2) nursing mothers, 3) celebrities such as David Brenner and Andy Rooney, and 4) my friend Libby who always wears a bandanna on her head.

My 79-year-old father-in-law is targeted for advanced screening practically every time he flies. (Perhaps he has something James Bond-esque disguised in his cane.) Meanwhile, healthy young potential terrorists are given a pass, a newspaper and a seat near the emergency exits.

I don't know what percentage of people get pulled aside for the Super Wand and Pat-Down Experience (sans shoes and belt), but let's say for argument's sake it is 1 in 4. Are we supposed to be relieved that only 75 percent of our plane's occupants may have boarded with contraband

Here are some safety problems found in the pilots unions' report: Screening of baggage is "improved" but does not always detect "explosives." (An explosive revelation, I'd say.) Cockpit doors in the U.S. are reinforced, but this is not mandated for foreign carriers or cargo planes. (News flash: "Cargo planes" can fly into buildings as easily as commercial airliners.) Air marshals: As rare as a full airline meal. Crew training: Spotty, with no security training at all for cargo personnel. Threat Intelligence: Pilots are not on the "need to know" list. Passenger screening: Not for explosives. Airline Employee screening: Haha! Cargo Screening: They don't.

General aviation is virtually unregulated when it comes to safety. The FAA issues "suggestions" which may be safely ignored! One expert pointed out that many planes at non-commercial airports are not locked, and oftentimes are sitting there with the KEYS in the ignition. So anyone with a little flight training and an intimate knowledge of the "on" switch can go for a Joyride. Or a Terror-Ride, which could include buzzing your local high rise, school, or nuclear power plant.

Don't worry. I'm not revealing something terrorists don't already know. They watch the news shows, too.

Other safety problems include lax screening of airport employees. I can personally vouch for that one, as I worked at an airport for several months in 1998, and carried my pepper spray in my purse the whole time! Employees who work in maintenance or food service basically have carte blanche if someone wants to pay them to "leave something" somewhere, or even sabotage the food, if they're in a poisoning kinda mood. What could be planted by a nefarious employee -- Bombs Boxcutters Botulism spores Whatever is on the Terrorist Menu.

Airport perimeters are not well guarded, either. If someone wants to set up with their shoulder-fired rocket they can easily create a Hollywood-style fireball upon takeoff.

So many opportunities abound for terrorists that you just can't think about them or you would never board a plane. So people fly the friendly skies hoping their planes won't be skyjacked, blown up or diverted to Baltimore. It's the same way 20 million people live on a giant crack in the earth in California and assume it's safe because "everyone else is here." 20 million people can't be wrong, can they And hey, the airlines say that within 10 years passenger travel in the U.S. will jump more than 50 percent to a BILLION people a year. That makes me feel even safer!

Maybe the FAA should treat the airlines the way parents treat their children. Getting "F's" in school is unacceptable. Perhaps the naughty airlines need to be grounded until those grades come up. And while they're at it, that passenger cabin is a mess!

Patricia Reilly Panara is the author of "Nobody Move!" and the novel "Buffalo Winged."





Airlines Flunk Safety But Passengers Try To Enjoy Strip Searches