TERRORISM & SECURITY ISSUES

                                     



Many passengers still have anxiety over those awful images of 9/11. The images that day can turn even the most relax person into a fearful flier tense with anxiety. Aviation security was once ,to many, a joke. The airlines hired private companies to run checkpoints. The private companies had poor training, low pay, & high turnover. We paid the price for it on Sept 11, 2001. But Sept 11 was no surprise to many pilots in the airline industry. The terrorist tried to crash airplanes into targets as far back as the mid-90s in the Philippines. However, our government didn't take notice to the growing threat on the horizon. I have spoken to many people who seem to have growing anxiety over security issues. Many people were clearly traumatized by the events of 9/11. Its hard to have trust in the government when they failed on that threadful day. But as an employee of the airlines, I've seem the improvements of security since 9/11. 

As a result, today we are much more safer then any point in history. Are there still growing threats out there? Yes, and there will always be so. There are always bad people out there still testing the system everyday. As a pilot, I get security briefings. I can assure you today the U.S. Government is aware of the threats out there not just from terrorist organizations, but also individuals.Today, we have layer after layer of a security blanket. Are first layer of security starts with the no fly list. This is a secret list that the government knows of individuals who may be a threat. It also list people associated with known dangerous individuals. So this program called CAPPS II Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening maintains a list of potential bad guys, and you do not want to get on this list because once on it your never get off it. Airlines also have a similar list for people in the past that had bad behavior on their flights, and therefore ban those people from flying on that specific airline. So before you get to the airport the airlines are checking to see if your on that list. The next layer of security is undercover security officers all around the airports. At any giving time, you have hundreds of Federal law enforcement officers traveling like passengers for government assignments. You also have thousands of Federal Air Marshals in the airport terminals, and on flights. Since 9/11, many people are unaware that pilots are allowed to carry  firearms in the cockpit. Those pilots that carry firearms are Federal Law Enforcement Officers. In addition, all airlines trained pilots & flight attendants on self-defense tactics since 9/11. Today flight attendants are taught to subconsciously profile passengers as they board the aircraft to determine which passenger they can select to help them. As an example, they try to seek out airline employees, military personnel, or any large individual they feel comfortable using. These people they call ABP or able body person. When a threat rises, the flight attendant will aggressively seek an ABP to assist her in any problem. In fact, when I travel, or commute to work I always tell the Captain of that flight that I am an ABP willing to assist & what seat I'm sitting so they could fine me quickly. In this post-9/11 world most passengers will also assist. Its in their best interest to help the flight crew because if another airliner is ever taken over by terrorist you could make no mistakes about it that the military will shoot it down. I think security is as safe as it can be. People shouldn't overly worried over it, or have anxiety about security issues anymore than being fearful of a mountain lion attack. When it comes to security, again the odds are in your favor.