mr Q
1st Oct 2003, 22:15
Politics - AP
Feds to Mull Air Cargo Security Proposals
Wed Oct 1, 3:25 AM ET
By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The broad security procedures imposed on airline passengers since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have not been extended to cargo.
Very little cargo on passenger planes is inspected.
And cargo planes have few of the protections given to passenger airliners: No air marshals fly with them, their pilots carry no weapons, they fly in and out of less-secure areas of airports.
The Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday will hear recommendations from three industry groups on ways to plug those holes in cargo security.
The agency asked the groups in spring to propose improvements that will form the basis for new cargo security regulations.
Pilots and flight attendants will formally dissent from the recommendations because they say the proposed rules would do little to stop terrorists from putting bombs onto passenger airliners.
The government on Tuesday said it will more closely monitor air cargo shipments and seek to prosecute those who illegally ship hazardous materials that officials say could lead to accidents or be used by terrorists to mount attacks.
Emery Worldwide Airlines Inc. — now part of CNF Inc. — has pleaded guilty to 12 counts of violating hazardous material shipping laws and agreed to pay a $6 million fine.
In its guilty plea, Emery admitted that on 12 occasions between November 1998 and July 1999 it transported "miscellaneous dangerous goods, flammable liquids and radioactive and explosive materials" on aircraft without providing written notification to the pilot. Without that notification, the pilot wouldn't be able to properly respond to an on-board fire or spill.
CNF spokesman Jim Allen said the violations occurred at Emery's hub in Dayton.
Feds to Mull Air Cargo Security Proposals
Wed Oct 1, 3:25 AM ET
By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The broad security procedures imposed on airline passengers since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have not been extended to cargo.
Very little cargo on passenger planes is inspected.
And cargo planes have few of the protections given to passenger airliners: No air marshals fly with them, their pilots carry no weapons, they fly in and out of less-secure areas of airports.
The Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday will hear recommendations from three industry groups on ways to plug those holes in cargo security.
The agency asked the groups in spring to propose improvements that will form the basis for new cargo security regulations.
Pilots and flight attendants will formally dissent from the recommendations because they say the proposed rules would do little to stop terrorists from putting bombs onto passenger airliners.
The government on Tuesday said it will more closely monitor air cargo shipments and seek to prosecute those who illegally ship hazardous materials that officials say could lead to accidents or be used by terrorists to mount attacks.
Emery Worldwide Airlines Inc. — now part of CNF Inc. — has pleaded guilty to 12 counts of violating hazardous material shipping laws and agreed to pay a $6 million fine.
In its guilty plea, Emery admitted that on 12 occasions between November 1998 and July 1999 it transported "miscellaneous dangerous goods, flammable liquids and radioactive and explosive materials" on aircraft without providing written notification to the pilot. Without that notification, the pilot wouldn't be able to properly respond to an on-board fire or spill.
CNF spokesman Jim Allen said the violations occurred at Emery's hub in Dayton.