Thu, Sep 11, 2003
The following statement was issued
Wednesday by Capt. Duane Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots
Association, in response to the incident where a stowaway managed
to ship himself in a cargo crate last Saturday:
"This is exactly the kind of cargo security breach that we have
been warning government and industry about. If a garden-variety
fugitive from justice (pictured below) can place himself on a cargo
airliner for two days by the mere act of stowing away in a plain
wooden crate, how hard would it be for trained, determined
terrorists to do the same thing, armed with weapons and
explosives?
"Despite the significant strides we have made in security on
passenger airliners, security improvements at cargo airlines have
been grossly inadequate. This individual used existing protocols to
circumvent all current, implemented security regulations -- which
currently require little or no screening of cargo on cargo
aircraft.
"Cargo airline management, through some supporters in Congress,
worked overtime to block requirements for reinforced cockpit doors
and armed pilots on cargo airliners. They claimed that cargo pilots
were not at risk, that terrorists couldn't find their way onto
their aircraft. This incident shows that they are in denial as to
the risks.
"Nearly a decade ago, ALPA successfully championed the concept
of One Level of Safety for all levels of airline passenger
operators. The cargo carrier segment of the industry has resisted
attempts to apply this concept to their operations, and has a long
history of getting itself exempted from various safety and security
requirements imposed on passenger carriers. The failure of cargo
carriers to improve their post-9/11 security virtually guarantees
that they will continue to be the weakest link in our efforts to
keep terrorists away from airliners. A cargo airliner full of boxes
makes just as deadly a guided missile as a passenger airliner full
of people.
"Members of the ALPA Cargo Committee are meeting with government
and industry working groups for improved protocols and regulations
regarding shipment of air cargo on cargo and passenger carriers.
Nevertheless, this incident underscores the need for enhanced
security and screening for all cargo shipments on all cargo
aircraft."
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