Entries Tagged "air travel"
Page 26 of 46
The Liquid Bomb
We finally have some actual information about the “liquid bomb” that was planned by that London group arrested in 2006:
The court heard the bombers intended to use hydrogen peroxide and mix it with a product called Tang, used in soft drinks, to turn it into an explosive.
They intended to carry it on board disguised as 500ml bottles of Oasis or Lucozade by using food dye to recreate the drinks’ distinctive colour.
The detonator would have been disguised as AA 1.5 batteries. The contents of the batteries would have been removed and an electric element such as a lightbulb or wiring would have been inserted.
A disposable camera would have provided a power source.
Any chemists want to take a crack at this one?
Would-Be Bomber Caught at Orlando Airport
Oddly enough, I flew into Orlando Airport on Tuesday night, hours after TSA and police caught Kevin Brown—not the baseball player—with bomb-making equipment in his checked luggage. (Yes, checked luggage. He was bringing it to Jamaica, not planning on blowing up the plane he was on.) Seems like someone trained in behavioral profiling singled him out, probably for stuff like this:
“He was rocking left to right, bouncing up and down … he was there acting crazy,” passenger Jason Doyle said.
But that was a passenger remembering Brown after the fact, so I wouldn’t put too much credence in it.
There are a bunch of articles about Brown and potential motives. Note that he is not an Islamic terrorist; he’s a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq:
“This is not him,” she said in a phone interview. “It has to be a mental issue for him. I know if they looked through his medical records…I’m sure they will see…”He’s not a terrorist.”
Brown married Holt’s daughter, Kamishia, 25, about three years ago. They met while serving in the Army and separated a year later. Brown wasn’t the same after returning from Iraq, her daughter told her.
“When he doesn’t take it [medication], he’s off the chain,” Holt said. “When you don’t take it and drink alcohol, it makes it worse.”
Doesn’t sound like a terrorist, but this does:
According to the affidavit, Brown admitted he had the items because he wanted to make pipe bombs in Jamaica. It also indicated he wanted to show friends how to make pipe bombs like he made while in Iraq.
Federal agents said federal agents found two vodka bottles filled with nitro-methane, a highly explosive liquid, as well as galvanized pipes, end caps with holes, BBs, a model-rocket igniter, AA batteries, a lighter and lighter fluid, plus other items used to make pipe bombs and detailed instructions and diagrams. He indicated the items were purchased in Gainesville where he lived at one time.
Ignore the hyperbole; nitromethane is a liquid fuel, not a high explosive. Here’s the whole affidavit, if you want to read it.
Even with all this news, the truth is that we just don’t know what happened. It looks like a great win for behavioral profiling (which, when done well, I think is a good idea) and the TSA. The TSA is certainly pleased. But we’ve seen apparent TSA wins before that turn out to be bogus when the details finally come out. Right now I’m cautiously pleased with the TSA’s performance, and offer them a tentative congratulations, especially for not over-reacting. I read—but can’t find the link now—that only 11 flights were delayed because of the event. The TSA claims that no flights were delayed, and also says that no security checkpoints were closed. Either way, it’s certainly something to congratulate the TSA about.
Australia May Outlaw Laser Pointers
They were used against planes last week.
I’m sure criminals also used cars in Australia last week. Will the country ban them next?
On the other hand, I’m sick and tired of laser pointers myself. But the cats of Australia will be terribly disappointed.
Wacky Airplane Security Idea
Force everyone to wear a bracelet that, when remotely activated, gives the person a debilitating shock.
No, really. A company is trying to commercialize this idea.
The mind boggles.
Security in Montana
Three items.
The first is about the difficulty of implementing REAL ID in areas so remote they don’t have a permanent DMV. The second is about airport security at airports so remote they average only two passengers per flight. The third—and this is the best—is Brian Schweitzer, Montana’s governor, speaking about his opposition to REAL ID.
EDITED TO ADD (3/24): More on Montana and REAL-ID.
FAA Badges Missing
I don’t know how big a deal this really is, but it is amusing nonetheless:
According to the investigation, 122 Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector badges have been stolen or lost in the past five years. The credentials are one of the few forms of identification that give complete and unfettered access to airport facilities, including the cockpits of planes in flight.
“The FAA badge is probably of all the badges just as dangerous if not more so than any other,” aviation expert Denny Kelly said.
Kelly, a former commercial pilot and a private investigator, said the badge can give a person free access to nearly every secure area of an airport.
“The FAA badge allows you not only on one airline, plus getting through security, it allows you to get on any airline, any airplane, anyplace,” he said.
Israel Implementing IFF System for Commercial Aircraft
Israel is implementing an IFF (identification, friend or foe) system for commercial aircraft, designed to differentiate legitimate planes from terrorist-controlled planes.
The news article implies that it’s a basic challenge-and-response system. Ground control issues some kind of alphanumeric challenge to the plane. The pilot types the challenge into some hand-held computer device, and reads back the reply. Authentication is achieved by 1) physical possession of the device, and 2) typing a legitimate PIN into the device to activate it.
The article talks about a distress mode, where the pilot signals that a terrorist is holding a gun to his head. Likely, that’s done by typing a special distress PIN into the device, and reading back whatever the screen displays.
The military has had this sort of system—first paper-based, and eventually computer-based—for decades. The critical issue with using this on commercial aircraft is how to deal with user error. The system has to be easy enough to use, and the parts hard enough to lose, that there won’t be a lot of false alarms.
TSA's Ideal Laptop Bag
This seems not to be a joke.
The Transportation Security Administration is interested in evaluating—and eventually approving –- the design of certain laptop bags, so travelers would be permitted to pass through security checkpoints without having to remove their laptops.
[…]
To accomplish this, the TSA RFI pointed out that the laptop bag would need to meet the following requirements:
- The carrying bag cannot exceed any one of the proposed dimensions – 16 inches in height, 24 inches wide and 36 inches long.
- The materials that make up the bag cannot degrade the quality of the X-ray image of the laptop.
- No straps, pockets, zippers, handles or closures of the bag can interfere with the image of the laptop.
- No electronics, chargers, batteries, wires, paper products, pens or other contents of the bag can shield the image of the laptop.
TSA is inviting bag designers and manufacturers to come up with creative ways to meet these design requirements, but it has also suggested three concepts of its own:
- A bag that would open completely, and lie horizontally on the X-ray belt, such that one side with hold only the laptop.
- A bag that would open completely, leaving the laptop standing vertically, supported by clips.
- A bag that would pull apart in separate compartments, with one compartment containing only the laptop.
Doesn’t sound like a particularly useful laptop bag.
Progress
A whole article about a bomb in Times Square without ever mentioning the “t” word.
Along with this, maybe we’re turning a corner. Probably not….
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.