...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.