...And Here, Darn it, Are The Heartbreakers

Final Compilation/Analysis by ANN News Editor, Tom Patton

It is both the most "fun," and most difficult task, facing the ANN staff at the end of every year -- determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes the aerospace community has managed to accomplish.
 
Alas, 2010 saw more than its fair share of downers, aviation-wise. Sure, "stuff" happens... but a few folks, issues, or entities seemed to go out of their way to create problems for the world of aviation.

So... it is ANN's annual obligation to recognize a dozen of our Aero-Heroes/Heartbreakers for 2010... in something of an informal order -- Saving the 'best' for last.

Let us know what you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be included, or omitted, from such a list. In the meantime, we hope those who had something to do with this year's selections think a little more positively about the welfare of this industry, so that future lists become harder and harder to catalog.

Be it ignorance, arrogance or just plain incompetence, these were the folks or topics that made our lot a whole lot more difficult and immeasurably injured the aviation world in the past year.

Shame on those issues, folks, or groups that made our lot so much tougher in 2010...

Aero-Heartbreakers: The Whole Darned TSA

The security agency certainly had its share of missteps, and detractors, over the course of the year. It seemed like every time you turned around during 2010, there was another story about somebody having some kind of an issue with TSA. From passengers to pilots and members of Congress, the agency drew its fair share of fire over the course of the year, and much of it was deserved.

The year started out with a TSA agent being fired a "prank" he pulled in 2009 in which he planted a bag of a white powder in a suitcase belonging to a college student, and then watched her panic while he made noises like she would be arrested. It was revealed that the agency keeps a record of passengers who "lose their temper" in security lines, or make comments to TSA screeners they consider to be derogatory. ANN reported in May "The database notes the type of incident as well, such as bullying, verbal abuse, or threats. Screeners can also note whether a passenger made remarks about death or violence, showed a real or fake weapon, or made an "excessive display of anger", like punching a wall."

About mid-year, we began hearing complaints about the screening process. It began in June when a passenger objected to a screener "touching her in an inappropriate place" with a metal-detecting wand, and the ensuing discussion led to the passenger being detained for a couple of hours. But later, when the agency dropped the use of the screening wands and went to an "enhanced pat down" search and full body scanners, the objections really began to come forward. Pilots argued that the consistent exposure to x-rays from the scanners were a health risk, and the general public objected to what amounts to a naked, if anonymous, image being seen by a TSA employee. Some said that having children pass through the scanners amounted to child pornography.

There was an incident in which a woman says she lost a Rolex watch while clearing security, one in which a woman says she was challenged over breast milk she was transporting, and in which the TSA agents reportedly ignored their own guidelines concerning that particular liquid. And then there was John Tyner, who became something of a folk hero when he now-famously told a TSA screener "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested."  He was escorted from the airport, but because he did not return to the screening area to complete the process to which he objected ... he was, at last report, the subject of a federal investigation.

If it had been a few isolated incidents, you might be able to pass it off as a couple of bad hires among the ranks of the screeners. But when people start purposely activating the video capture features on their phones before clearing security, there can be only a couple of conclusions. They're spoiling for a fight, or they want to have a record should they become the target of a federal investigation.

To be sure, there may be a few of the former. Given the level of notoriety gained by some of the people who have made a lot of noise about problems with TSA, some who crave their Andy Warhol-allotted 15 minutes of fame might just bring it on themselves. But the number of incidents we've reported this year seems to indicate that there may be a problem with the system. And at least one Congressman, John Mica (R-FL) who will chair the Transportation Committee in the new Republican-led House, felt compelled to remind airport managers and the public that TSA security was voluntary for airports. TSA was quick to point out that, whether it was the federal agency or contractors ... the screening processes was set by federal law and would remain the same.

Perhaps more disconcerting is that the officials in charge of TSA staunchly defend their practices. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano recently said during a trip to Israel that there was "more acceptance" by the traveling public of TSAs security measures, and there were no changes under consideration.

None of this even touches on the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign expanded this year by TSA which, at least in some of the promotional material, raised questions about people taking photographs around airports.

Napolitano

This is the second year in a row that TSA has made our list of heartbreakers (and their bosses were already singled out this year, to boot). As we said last year, the vast majority of TSA employees are good people doing a job which may often be unpleasant, and it's an enormous responsibility to keep the millions of people who get on airliners every year safe from terrorist threats. But because of the failure of the leadership to recognize that, in the face of the body of evidence widely reported in the news media there MIGHT be a problem, TSA is on the list again.

FMI: www.aero-news.net, www.tsa.gov