Because of new armored cockpit doors and a new security mind set by pax and crew, the hijack threat has long been dwarfed by much larger security nightmares.
From what has been demonstrated in Israel, the new wave of terror will come from suicide bombers who will attempt to board with plastic explosives, either wrapped around their bodies or positioned in their checked baggage. No longer is cockpit entry necessary to terrorize the flying public. A remote controlled suitcase bomb detonated at altitude exactly over a large metropolitan area would have similar consequences as 9/11.
The biggest loophole in pax security is that not all checked baggage is screened for explosives. That's the scary part.
Part Two of a major security loophole are airport perimeters. Suicidal bombers could easily drive a dump truck loaded with explosives through a chain link fence right smack into a fully loaded 74 at the gate or on a taxiway.
It's pretty hard to get into people's minds! So, when you're dealing with just one determined terrorist who is intent on blowing himself up, what can a pistol toting aerial cowboy pilot do?
To be sure, the security focus must be at airports.
Last edited by GlueBall; 14th August 2002 at 01:32.