U.S. Acts to Thwart Missile Threat Against Airliners

[RatherBeFlying]

Washington Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57085-2003Jan14.html)

Airport perimeter security and IR counter measures can make these attacks more difficult, but there will still be ways around that I prefer not to discuss.

[Avman]

ATTENTION AIRPORT (SECURITY) MANAGERS WORLDWIDE:

Improve airport security at zero cost! Encourage the aeroplane watching public, plane spotters and aviation photographers to visit your airport. Provide them with suitable parking facilities and provide loads of signs with the telephone number of the Airport Security Officer. Everyone has a GSM these days. If any member of the public sees something suspicious they will know who to call.

[PaperTiger]

Not very reassuring. Some of the notions reported are naïve (to be charitable), some dangerously so. In the Mombasa thread I think it was pretty much agreed that the immediate perimeter was the least effective, and therefore least likely location from which to launch a SAM. The idea that Abdullah and his mates are going to drive up to the fence in their Ryder van and calmly 'assemble' the launcher in full view of everyone would be laughable were it not for the fact that this 'think tank' seems to believe they have come up with appropriate countermeasures.

As for varying departure times, the whole essence of scheduled air service is that it's just that - scheduled. If passengers are expected to turn up first thing in the morning because the flight is sometime that day, I would expect revenues to decline rather severely. An El Al model may work for some countries, (I do believe LY publishes a schedule and more or less sticks to it) but not where air transport is a major undertaking - such as the US.

I really do hope there is much more going on (not for public consumption), by real experts with a better grasp of effective security than this group seems to posess.

And don't get me started on this 'panic-button' transponder NPRM that came out yesterday. :rolleyes:

[Danny]

Don't know if this gem came from the journo or the members of the study group but it's got me really worried :rolleyes: Officials said the government will initiate a program to retrain commercial pilots in the technique of landing a jetliner once it has lost an engine.

I sometimes wonder if the madhouse is being run by the inmates. Whilst there is no doubt that there is a lot of individual expertise amongst some members of these 'groups' it never ceases to amaze me that collectively, they come up with some stupid ideas. Is it like a mass hysteria? As long as there is a majority agreement they have to come up with anything and heaven forbid they don't have something for the 'sound bite'?

[A-V-8R]

In Vietnam, when the US Army first started encountering Strela shoulder launched missles they had to develope some tactics to deal with them.

I never saw a UH-1 or Scout (OH-58/OH-6) with missle detectors or chaff in Vietnam. (Some of the hard points to mount these things started showing up in my Reserve unit in the late '80s but I never saw any equipment on them.)

The interim solution was in the event of a confirmed firing was to roll off the throttle, bottom the collective, and start, I think it was, a right hand turn. This reduced the heat signature somewhat, and in a few months we started changing the exaust from an open tube to one that deflected slightly into the rotor system.

I think what was printed was a slightly different procedure than what is recommended, and you can guess what it is.

Personally, RPG's (Rocket Propelled Grenades) have brought down more low flying aircraft that I know of than missles, at least for Army aircraft losses. I don't think the range of these was much over 200 meters though, but that certainly has improved over the years. And it $350 bucks a copy, plentiful enough around the world.

[WideBodiedEng]

As Avman says - encourage as many spotters etc to hang around. If anyone is likely to notice anything out of the ordinary they would. After all they usually know the Capts Name (& licence No!) as well as a full history of the A/C :)
But seriously, that would be a really cost effective method of boosting perimeter security forcing the bad guys further out.

[OLNEY 1 BRAVO]

I totally agree that encouraging aircraft spotters at airfields actually enhances security. Sadly I understand that a number of the albeit few Spectators Areas at US Airfields are being closed on the instructions of the TSA. Houston IAH is one such example.

The areas at Fort Lauderdale were also closed but reopened in the last few days after a public outcry.

[TR4A]

Feds Have Plan to Protect U.S. Flights

WASHINGTON (AP)--The government has taken undisclosed steps to protect commercial flights from a missile attack and a task force has been assembled to come up with more ideas, officials said Wednesday.

One approach under consideration is a neighborhood watch program that would educate local police and residents near airports to identify missile parts and to be on the lookout for suspicious people.

"Someone is not going to be able to just whip one of these things out of a briefcase,'' Iannarelli said.