Cyclic Hotline
2nd Nov 2001, 20:21
A Lapse in JFK Security Terminal emptied, serached, 1,000 passengers rechecked
By Merle English and Sylvia Adcock
STAFF WRITERS November 2, 2001 Newsday.com
Air travel at Kennedy Airport was thrown into chaos late yesterday when the Federal Aviation Administration shut down an American Airlines terminal after inspectors caught at least one security worker failing to properly check passengers for contraband, authorities said.
The worker, reportedly employed by Worldwide Flight Services, a firm hired by American Airlines, was patting down passengers in Terminal A but was not using an electronic wand that sounds an alarm if weapons or metal objects are detected.
It was not immediately clear if those passengers had first passed through the metal detectors at the terminal. Some passengers said they had been told at least one metal detector had broken down, but FAA officials would not provide specifics.
"Security agents determined that proper procedures were not being used," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. She would not elaborate.
Authorities did not recover any weapons or contraband.
The 4:30 p.m. incident sparked an evacuation of the terminal while it was searched for bombs and contraband and prompted authorities to pull scores of passengers from planes sitting on the tarmac.
The FAA said that seven flights - some heading overseas - were delayed at least several hours, with more than 1,000 passengers passing through security again after waiting patiently in the terminal during the search.
"The fact they did this is a good thing," said Eddie Travers, a Manorville man heading to a Miami vacation with his wife, Jaime, and their 8-month-old daughter, Casey.
Other passengers, however, said the scare underscored the nation's vulnerability, particularly since the Sept. 11 terror attack.
"This situation creates a lack of confidence in the system because there is no communication," said Ronald Wright, an environmental health consultant from Uniondale.
The security breakdown came two days after Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said that despite the heightened state of alert in place at airports since Sept. 11, "an unacceptable number of deficiencies continue to occur."
"And the result is a growing lack of confidence and increasing criticism of the actions that are being taken by the FAA," Mineta said then.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Jamaica Estates), debating a bill designed to tighten aviation security, pointed yesterday to the incident at Kennedy to support the Democrats' contention that airport security screeners should be federal employees, not workers for private companies that win fat government contracts.
"It's an example of exactly what we're trying to do: come up with national standards," said Ackerman, whose district also includes portions of Nassau and Suffolk counties. "If they were at least federal employees, they'd be trained. There would be uniform procedures."
Ackerman also said Republicans oppose designating the airport screeners as federal employees because they would be union members - and more likely to vote Democratic.
"The Republicans are more afraid of the unions than they are of terrorists," he said.
As for the incident at Kennedy, Ackerman said it was possible that "somebody could have knocked the plug out [of the magnetometer], and it was planned."
By Merle English and Sylvia Adcock
STAFF WRITERS November 2, 2001 Newsday.com
Air travel at Kennedy Airport was thrown into chaos late yesterday when the Federal Aviation Administration shut down an American Airlines terminal after inspectors caught at least one security worker failing to properly check passengers for contraband, authorities said.
The worker, reportedly employed by Worldwide Flight Services, a firm hired by American Airlines, was patting down passengers in Terminal A but was not using an electronic wand that sounds an alarm if weapons or metal objects are detected.
It was not immediately clear if those passengers had first passed through the metal detectors at the terminal. Some passengers said they had been told at least one metal detector had broken down, but FAA officials would not provide specifics.
"Security agents determined that proper procedures were not being used," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. She would not elaborate.
Authorities did not recover any weapons or contraband.
The 4:30 p.m. incident sparked an evacuation of the terminal while it was searched for bombs and contraband and prompted authorities to pull scores of passengers from planes sitting on the tarmac.
The FAA said that seven flights - some heading overseas - were delayed at least several hours, with more than 1,000 passengers passing through security again after waiting patiently in the terminal during the search.
"The fact they did this is a good thing," said Eddie Travers, a Manorville man heading to a Miami vacation with his wife, Jaime, and their 8-month-old daughter, Casey.
Other passengers, however, said the scare underscored the nation's vulnerability, particularly since the Sept. 11 terror attack.
"This situation creates a lack of confidence in the system because there is no communication," said Ronald Wright, an environmental health consultant from Uniondale.
The security breakdown came two days after Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said that despite the heightened state of alert in place at airports since Sept. 11, "an unacceptable number of deficiencies continue to occur."
"And the result is a growing lack of confidence and increasing criticism of the actions that are being taken by the FAA," Mineta said then.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Jamaica Estates), debating a bill designed to tighten aviation security, pointed yesterday to the incident at Kennedy to support the Democrats' contention that airport security screeners should be federal employees, not workers for private companies that win fat government contracts.
"It's an example of exactly what we're trying to do: come up with national standards," said Ackerman, whose district also includes portions of Nassau and Suffolk counties. "If they were at least federal employees, they'd be trained. There would be uniform procedures."
Ackerman also said Republicans oppose designating the airport screeners as federal employees because they would be union members - and more likely to vote Democratic.
"The Republicans are more afraid of the unions than they are of terrorists," he said.
As for the incident at Kennedy, Ackerman said it was possible that "somebody could have knocked the plug out [of the magnetometer], and it was planned."