Cargo planes draw more concern
Friday, November 7, 2003 Posted: 10:34 PM EST (0334 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials said Friday there is recent intelligence suggesting terrorists may want to use cargo aircraft to attack targets in the United States.
The officials noted that they have been worried about cargo planes since security around passenger flights was increased after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Separately, a senior U.S. official told CNN there has been "chatter" suggesting that al Qaeda terrorists might try to fly cargo planes from outside the United States into facilities inside the country such as nuclear power plants.
Officials said the information came from a single source and is uncorroborated, but the advisory was issued out of an abundance of caution.
Security concerns about cargo grew in September when a New York man shipped himself inside a crate to his parents' home near Dallas, Texas. Charles McKinley wasn't detected inside the crate until he arrived at his destination and kicked out the side of the container.
Labels on the crate indicated it contained computer equipment.
Last month, three industry groups recommended the Transportation Security Administration upgrade air cargo security since most cargo on planes is never screened.
The industry groups -- representing airline pilots, airlines, cargo companies and victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, among others -- make up the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.
They also recommended changes for cargo airlines. Chief among them: improving perimeter security at air cargo facilities, instituting random screening for anyone with access to ramps, securing unattended aircraft and controlling access to cargo sitting on the ramp.
For cargo on passenger planes, the groups urged beefing up the "known shipper" program by developing a federal database to check more thoroughly each shipper before its cargo is placed on a plane.
Currently, a shipper must be registered with the TSA. The airline or cargo company checks out the shipper to make sure it is legitimate. Airlines cannot carry cargo from a company or person they do not know or who is not a "known shipper."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/11/07/cargo.security/