November 20, 2001
Everybody Wants Airport Security But What Are They Really Getting?

by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor

Airport security.

It was a major topic among government officials, the travel industry, and the traveling public before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It became subject No. 1 after the airliners were hijacked and used as weapons of mass destruction.

Immediately after the attack, the skies over the US were closed to non-military craft for several days. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) presumably put new security regulations in place immediately, and by the next week commercial air travel resumed—even if a lot of people weren’t flying.

About nine days after the Sept. 11 attacks I started the first of two round trip air trips I’ve made since 9-11.

Some changes had been made, we were assured. Security was tightened. There was more ID display. And by the second round trip within three weeks, young National Guardsman had been scattered through airports and airlines—at least Southwest—had installed hard metal barriers between the pilots and the cockpit door.


In spite of the extra time it took to travel, and the extra care in what was packed for carry-on luggage, not a lot had really changed. The media, government officials and the public may talk a lot about the kind of people who man the security checkpoints, the wages they are paid, and who has ultimate responsibility. But missing from all the talk is a focus on common sense and what we used to call “street smarts.”

Bottom Line
Bottom line: the security planners don’t really seem to have any common sense. Part of the success achieved by the 19 terrorists who attacked on Sept. 11 was their determination to die achieving their objectives. Against people that determined, there is no such thing as 100% security. There never was. There never will be.

But all assurances aside, the common sense factor is still missing.

The following story by Tom McCann and Sean D. Hamill of the Chicago Tribune is a good recap of an incident that occurred at the beginning of November. It never should have happened. Under other circumstances, the results could have been as tragic as what happened on Sept. 11. This particular security team has since been fired, but I’m not sure anyone has learned much more than we knew before.

Here’s the gist of the Chicago Tribune story:

“Seven O’Hare International Airport security workers were suspended Sunday (Nov. 4) and are likely to be fired after they let a Chicago man pass through a security checkpoint with seven knives, a stun gun and a can of mace in his carry-on luggage, according to city aviation officials.

“The man was eventually stopped and the weapons were found before he was able to board a plane (on Nov. 3).”

Subash Gurung, 27, a native of Nepal, was arrested while waiting to board a United Airlines flight to Omaha, said Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Monique Bond. Airport police said Gurung bought a one-way ticket.

Airline employees discovered the weapons during a final bag check at the gate, Bond said, part of new procedures that several airlines have adopted since the Sept. 11 attacks.

But that was after two folding knives were discovered in Gurung’s pocket when he walked through a security checkpoint metal detector, police said. Bond said the knives were confiscated and police were summoned, but Gurung was allowed to continue to his gate.

Meanwhile, his bag went through an X-ray machine, but the security staff did not notice the knives or other weapons, Bond said. A search of the bag wasn’t conducted even after the two knives were found, she said.

Bond would not say what led to the later search of Gurung’s bag.

“Something obviously went seriously wrong here, and we’re trying to find out if it’s the employees’ fault or the security company’s fault,” Bond said. “If weapons were confiscated, he should never have been let through security.”

The suspended workers were all employees of Atlanta-based Argenbright Security Inc., the company that runs United’s screening operations at O’Hare. Three veteran employees were working the checkpoint alongside three trainees, said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. The employees’ supervisor was also suspended.

Other Lapses
Despite heightened airport security in the aftermath of the attacks, the Nov. 3 lapse wasn’t the first. In October, a passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight accidentally brought a gun aboard a plane in his briefcase.

Lawmakers agree steps are still needed to improve baggage and passenger screening, but the House and Senate remain divided about how best to achieve that goal.

“If the system can’t detect a knife and a stun gun in luggage, then you have to ask yourself whether the people are doing their job right,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who supports the Senate bill that gives the Justice Department responsibility for airport security.

Gurung was charged with three misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a weapon, attempting to board an aircraft with dangerous weapons and carrying dangerous weapons. A spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said the case was still being evaluated and more serious charges could be brought.

Gurung was released early on Nov. 4 on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 19. He was questioned by the FBI, who turned him over to Chicago police.

Gurung could not be reached for comment when released. In earlier comments to WLS-Ch. 7, he said “It just happened out of accident, in a hurry.”

He said he has worked in a warehouse but was presently unemployed.

Gurung recently moved back to Chicago with his brother, Sushil, from Minnesota, said Adam Colfax, superintendent for the Chicago apartment building where the Gurung brothers lived until a year ago.

Colfax said Gurung previously lived in another apartment, where Ayub Ali Khan once lived. Khan has been detained by authorities as a material witness in the Sept. 11 attacks but it is unclear whether he knew Gurung.

Debate Continues
The airlines, the FAA and Congress are all still talking about the Chicago incident and the failure of United’s security agents to detect the weapons in Gurung’s carry-on luggage.

Like so many things that don’t go right, there is still a lot of finger-pointing several days after the incident.

Many gunowners are already saying that since the airlines and the government can’t guarantee their security as airline, train or bus passengers, they should be allowed to carry on their own legal weapons. But that’s not something that is ever going to happen, even with all the proofs of training, competency and legal possession. Pilots are still pursuing the option of being armed, and many are taking training, but while the government might give them the green light, it is unlikely their airline companies will.

Some airlines are paying special schools to teach flight attendants when and how to deliver fatal blows using what would seem innocuous and everyday items, or their bare hands and feet.

But the key will always be the security screening of the passengers who buy tickets hoping to get from here to there. The baggage should be screened. The flight and ground crews need to be carefully screened, and their ID continuously checked.

But we’re still a long way from getting the security job right when a half dozen or more security workers can make such a huge blunder as they did in Chicago.