Airport Security Fails to Catch Bomb Components
While the rest of us have been struggling to survive air travel without our precious liquids and gels, federal investigators managed to sneak liquid explosives and detonators through airport security, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued Wednesday.
While the rest of us have been struggling to survive air travel without our precious liquids and gels, federal investigators managed to sneak liquid explosives and detonators through airport security, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued Wednesday.
The investigators simply googled what they needed, went out and bought the items and then walked right through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
A TSA spokeswoman says the screening checkpoints are but one of 19 layers of security. So we shouldn’t worry that they fail to stop bombs from going through?
Wait, before you go…NPR:
Government investigators smuggled liquid explosives and detonators past airport security, exposing a dangerous hole in the nation’s ability to keep these forbidden items off of airplanes, according to a report made public Wednesday.
The investigators learned about the components to make an improvised explosive device and an improvised incendiary device on the Internet and purchased the parts at local stores, said the report by the Government Accountability Office. Investigators were able to purchase the components for the two devices for under $150, and they studied the published guidelines for screening to determine how to conceal the prohibited items as they went through checkpoint security.
At the end of the testing, investigators concluded that terrorists could use publicly available information and a few cheaply available supplies to damage an airplane and threaten passenger safety.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
The company hasn’t just lost its business compass—gone is its moral one as well.
The deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash offers an important lesson about capitalism’s human toll.
Passengers on transatlantic flights face scary moments as climate change driven by carbon dioxide emissions increases turbulence.
Researchers warn that the cost of airline tickets will need to rise steadily to decrease demand and counteract the effects of aviation’s growing carbon emissions.
Just a week after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 killed 298 people in eastern Ukraine, another passenger jet has apparently crashed.
Scores of angry relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard Flight MH370 set out on a protest march to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday to demand more answers about the plane's fate.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.