When I lived in Florida, back in the 70's and would go on trips by plane, while sitting in Miami International Airport, or Ft. Lauderdale Airport, the thought and fear of a hijack to Cuba would always be in the back of my mind. Hijacking seemed quite frequent back then (once in your local airport was enough).
After 9-11 we all accepted the TSA airport security requirements. While inconveniences, they became a somewhat normal part of travel. What might have been a 2-4 hour ordeal in travel was now expanded by at least two hours.
We still keep accepting each new security requirement as it comes along. We grumble. But we do our part. There's a reason for this madness, isn't there? We can't forget those lives that were lost and sacrificed on 9-11.
I will never forget those lives lost. But my views on our current security system have changed since I read an article by a commercial airline pilot, Patrick Smith. He says the following:
"In years past, a takeover meant hostage negotiations and standoffs; crews were trained in the concept of “passive resistance.” All of that changed forever the instant American Airlines Flight 11 collided with the north tower. What weapons the 19 men possessed mattered little; the success of their plan relied fundamentally on the element of surprise. And in this respect, their scheme was all but guaranteed not to fail."
"For several reasons — particularly the awareness of passengers and crew — just the opposite is true today. Any hijacker would face a planeload of angry and frightened people ready to fight back. Say what you want of terrorists, they cannot afford to waste time and resources on schemes with a high probability of failure. And thus the September 11th template is all but useless to potential hijackers".
Read Patrick Smith's full article on the NY Times, Jet Lagged
The Airport Security Follies ◄ here
While I have doubted the training and experience of the TSA employees in many airports, I had never really thought good and hard before about the airport security program and its future. Patrick Smith shows there is nothing but failure on the horizon for the program.
Homeland Security needs to rethink what our priorities are in our airports.
What do you think after reading the article?
