Transportation Security Administration screeners at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport missed more than 60% of bomb components which undercover agents attempted to smuggle through airport checkpoints, according to a classified report.
The January 2007 report, obtained by USA TODAY, also said that screeners at Los Angeles International Airport failed to detect the bomb parts and fake explosives about 75 percent of the time.
But screeners at San Francisco, who work for a private contractor under a pilot program, missed only 20% during a recent round of red team testing by the Department of Homeland Security.
“That’s a huge cause for concern,” said Clark Kent Ervin, the Homeland Security Department’s former inspector general. Screeners’ inability to find bombs could encourage terrorists to try to bring them on airplanes, Ervin said, and points to the need for more screener training and more powerful checkpoint scanning machines.
In the past year, the TSA has adopted a more aggressive approach in its attempt to keep screeners attentive — the agency runs covert tests every day at every U.S. airport, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said. Screeners who miss detonators, timers, batteries and blocks that resemble plastic explosives get remedial training.
The failure rates at Los Angeles and Chicago are “somewhat misleading” because they don’t reflect screeners’ improved ability to find bombs, Howe said.
TSA chief Kip Hawley, responding to previous reports about screeners missing hidden weapons, told a House hearing Tuesday that high failure rates stem from increasingly difficult covert tests that require screeners to find bomb parts the size of a pen cap. “We moved from testing of completely assembled bombs … to the small component parts,” he said. — USA TODAY
TSA has been failing these tests since its inception. In Denver, it missed 90% of tests. Last year at Newark Liberty, guess what the TSA didn’t find. A Government Accountability Office investigation last year found much the same story at airports all over the country.
Before 9/11, airport security was run by private companies, but with heavy government regulation and oversight. And they still had high failure rates, primarily because the results were covered up. Then as now, the government doesn’t like to be embarrassed or shown for how incompetent it really is.
The official line from the TSA is that they’re still failing because the bar has been raised on the tests and they’re actually harder now.
TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding, who said tests are conducted at every airport in the nation, said the leaked figures actually reflect 2006 test results and things have improved in the past year.
“We are seeing better test scores at airports than are reflected in the report. We are doing a wider variety of tests and more tests,” she said. “Under TSA pay for performance officers must show improvement or be pulled off the line.”
Uselding said the TSA designs testing with an expectation of failure, so “the results of these tests are not appropriate for public dissemination.”
Tests are conducted with “an in-depth knowledge of standard operating procedures and the capabilities of our technology. If our security officers got it right every time, then we are not pushing the envelope and challenging them to improve. Every failed test is a lesson and helps us to build a stronger workforce.”
And the tests get more and more difficult as security improves, Uselding said. “As scores start to improve on tests, our security experts change their tactics and devise even more difficult tests. Once security officers improve to that level of testing the bar is raised again. By constantly challenging our workforce we create an ever strengthening layer of security at the checkpoint.” — Chicago Sun-Times
The problem with that, of course, is that TSA screeners will get fairly good at whatever is being tested for, and lose their skills at whatever isn’t being tested. So perhaps they’ll find pen caps with someone’s ear wax in them, but miss the disassembled zip gun.
And, of course, how well (or poorly) the government is doing at providing security is “not appropriate for public dissemination.”
In the meantime, you can be sure that what you see at the airport checkpoint is nothing more than security theater, a lame and expensive attempt to make people feel good about flying, when it remains as dangerous and vulnerable to terrorists as it ever was, if not more so.
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17 Comments
it’s obvious TSA screeners are placebo security. it’s time they get some real training.
Give me one historical example of an “unbreachable wall of defense” that worked and I’ll shut up. Security that cannot be penetrated is an impossible dream. An aura that instills fear and respect is the best security ever invented. When the nation behind it’s wall loses that “aura”, the wall get’s smashed and the nation gets plundered. That’s what we have to worry about and fix; our credibility as the strongest nation in the world and the land of the free and the home of the brave. The government doesn’t give you “freedom and bravery” and the government can’t take it away from you. You either got it or you don’t.
After watching the California firefighting effort, I have to think that maybe Americans still have “it” in them. We still put on a good performance once in awhile.
“It” doesn’t seem to come out though until we’re really squeezed. Most of the time we act like a bunch of spoiled, fat, lazy babies. That’s too bad.
A total ban on passengers and freight on airlines will solve the airport security problem permanently.
Write your elected representatives and demand this important security measure now.
–Po
(Yes, tongue is in cheek.)
Potential Threat might be on to something. When I worked for TSA, we used to say “this would be a great job if it weren’t for all the passengers.” Here’s an opportunity to improve security and morale in one shot. Brilliant.
what do you expect, these asshats only know how to check shampoo and shoes. Tsa provides no security only stupidty. Fire them all.
well at least they stopped all that dangerous water from getting on board!
To prevent another 911 they need more guards on board and secret agents. The more the merrier!!!! This will prevent thier evil plots and send them to the fiery hell they belong in.
Granted TSA has some real knuckle-balls working for them, however, there are some that are good, honest, hardworking people. There not all idiots, like some that are commenting on this page. Don’t think you know it all until you have done the job. I should know, I am a former TSA screener. I know how difficult that job is when you don’t have the right technology and practical security procedures.
QUIT being mad at TSA and direct your anger where it needs to be—-at the terrorists! They are the reason TSA exists. TSA screeners are just doing there job. They are following instructions from Homeland Security. Be mad at Homeland, not the screeners!
Poster Bob exclaimed: Give me one historical example of an ?unbreachable wall of defense? that worked and I?ll shut up.
Israel has such that I know of for El Al and they’ve commented on our lack of such. So shut up and go away troll. I worked for TSA for a couple of years. We never got the training that we were suppose to, not enough time to train us, not enough money to do so (and friends who still work for TSA state that it hasn’t changed). If we made a mistake due to the lack of sufficient training, we were written up. It was always the fault of the screener, not the over paid bureaucrats in Congress, TSA HQ or the local FSD’s staff.
If the second amendment was in force in this country, AND this was truly the land of the free and the home of the brave, then 9/11 never would have happened. Instead we allow our rights to be stripped away and we teach people to not fight back against terrorists and other bad guys. As a result, 9/11 was inevitable.
Yeah, I guess you’re right. There hasn’t been a bombing or killing or any kind of terrorist attack in Israel for years. (sarcasm) I do like the way they do things though. Try again little buddy.
In an effort to change the subject and avoid being wrong Bob stated: Yeah, I guess you?re right. There hasn?t been a bombing or killing or any kind of terrorist attack in Israel for years. (sarcasm) I do like the way they do things though. Try again little buddy.
I clearly pointed out that I was talking about “El Al airlines” being terrorist bulletproof in reference to TSA. No answer to that one huh? Just change the subject to involve the whole country of Israel, which is surrounded by enemies who can get inside Israel or launch missles if they wish. Now go a-w-a-y!
Sorry, I misunderstood. I did watch a movie called “raid on Entebbe” a while back. Was that El Al? How far back can we go? I’m sure if they tried today, they could get through El Al security but they’re afraid of the Israelis and for good reason. Terrorists don’t mind dying for their cause but they hate the thought of their families getting blown up in reprisal. That’s the “aura” I was talking about. It’s easier to pick on Air India or American Airlines. Is El Al security all “touchy, feely” and more fun to go through than ours?
Okay, I just looked it up. It was an Air France flight in that movie. Beaten at my own game. Well played little buddy. Over and out.
What’s the point of getting me to shut up and go away if you’re not going to say anything when I’m gone? There still have not been any terrorist attempts to get through El Al security, so I’ll dissappear again.
In my personal opinion to stop terrorists we should hand each civilian with a gun when they are going to board a plane that way if the terrorist pulls out his gun he will be against a whole airplane full of angry citizens with firearms that way there would be no chance in hell that he could take over the plane does everybody agree?
Tazers maybe. If the plane gets shot full of holes at 30,000ft after a mile high Shootout at the OK Corral, it would decompress and go down anyway. But good idea Noah, just need to work out the details.
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