Don't get too worked up, yet. The good news for those in a lather is that most of smaller man portable surface to air devices aren't likely to blow you out of the sky. The explosive charge isn't that big and that's not what it was designed to do. It's designed to slow you down. The intent is to shut down or destroy a powerplant, not obliterate you. These weapons just aren't that big.
Some of them are, however. Some of them have already been found, and used, in the continental US.
Don't underestimate our intelligence services. They're not omniscient, but they do a credible job of getting what information they can. The fact is that it doesn't take something as exotic as a MANPADS to take you down. A mechanic leaving a tool in the wrong spot (intentionally, or accidentally) can do it. The fueler can do it. A chef preparing crewmeals can do it. Nobody would ever know until far too late, and those responsible will be long gone.
This isn't news. It only illustrates the fact that the object of terrorism is being met. Terror. Fear of missles, attacks, whatever. The truth is, all these threats are not new. They've existed for some time, and have occured before. The potential for threat is very high, always has been. It's just that now people are starting to pull their heads from the sand and wake up to the fact.
I carried knives on my belt for years while jumpseating or flying places as a passenger...to say nothing of when flying as crew. I always maintained that sooner or later someone would take one of those "innocent" little 3 inch blades to a crewmember and hijack a flight. I was told that was a stupid notion. After all, everyone told me, what's so intimidating about a razor blade, three inch knife, box cutter or utility knife? Well, now everybody knows.
I maintained for years that if I were a terrorist, I'd hijack a large airplane such as a 757 and fly it into a large building such as the WTC. Why? Because it was an obvious target. A school kid could have figured that out. However, when I brought up that thought among other pilots, invariably it was put down as utter nonsense. Outlandish, everyone said. Belongs in a fiction novel. Not really, it belongs in the forefront of our thinking, because weather or not something has happened, it has the very strong opportunity to become reality. The only way to prevent that from happening is to wake up.
I have maintained that GA aircraft represent a significant threat. While flying one into the side of a capitol building or other public target likely wouldn't make a dent, the psychological impact is potentially enormous. The effect it would have on our industry and the economy in general is incalculable. To launch a simultaneous attack in this manner in several states would be catastrauphic. Collateral damage? Not much. But the impression, and the reprecussions throughout the industry, would be masive. Yet whenever I bring this up, I'm laughed right out of the room. Why? People haven't awakened to the danger yet...it takes a disaster before that happens, and then it's too late.
The soloution? Wake up, before another ragheaded band of nutcases go do it.
I was severely ridiculed for discussing the events surrounding the shootdown of TWA 800 before. A dozen of more "experts" posted here to tell me such a thing wasn't possible and quite likely a few more will again. Couldn't happen, wouldn't happen, that thinking belongs in a novel or a movie somewhere.
It's true that the official reports do not show TWA 800 as a shootdown. The official record shows an explosion in a center fuel tank, a low order detonation and deflagration. While this did take place, the wiring wasn't the impetus, but rather a foriegn ignition source which exploded adjacent to that tank. That's not nearly so important now as the fact that it can happen again.
Airlines and airport management are alerted to be aware of the threat. They can do more than those of us in the cockpit. We're victims when it occurs, not saviors. Sometimes you can do everything right, and still lose. An RJ or Airbus or B737 is not a tactical aircraft, and shouldn't be treated like one. It's a transport that can easily become a target.
Security goes far beyond what we can or can't see in the cockpit. It goes to every citizen, every person who hears or sees. Small things, anything remotely suspicious. If people are made aware, people participate. One wouldn't hardly believe how effective programs such as America's Most Wanted are. Increadibly so. A fugitive may go for years without discovery. But put his or her picture on the television, and within days or a week he or she is caught. People are made aware, and soon there's nowhere to go.
The very same thing needs to be done for terrorism. People need to be made aware that these things are possible, and even likely. People need to know what to look for. Just saw a new neighbor move in? Hey, we're living adjacent to the airport. He sure didn't have much furniture. Just some long wooden crates. Maybe he's an artist. Maybe not. But it won't hurt to check out an artist...it may hurt a lot to wait until something gets launched from the back yard.
Don't think it's futile. It's not. There is a lot that can be done. Recognizing the threat is only one step of many. We all play a vital role. Cockpit crew to cop to doctor to baby sitter. Each role is very small, but very vital. We can sacrifice our lives to the police state in the name of security, or we can increase our awareness as a culture and society. I vote for the latter. Stopping terrorists and criminals needs to be done early, before they strike. Waiting until you see the trail or the gun or the flash is rather like jumping from a bridge and then wishing for a parachute. Just a hair late.
I'm sick to death of hearing the ridicule that security practices catch. I'm sick to death of hearing people whine about shoe removal, slight delays, additional checks and measures. Small prices to pay, and upholding them while they evolve into something better is more than good citizenship, it's a duty. We all have a duty, and an example to set. Each small part affects the larger whole; we enhance security by the way we park our car, by the way we watch out for our neighbors, by the way we view our place in our society.
We are not united. We are not a brotherhood. But unless we learn to be, we're going to die...as a community, as individuals, as citizens. Watching our for our neighbor isn't just an ancient golden rule, but the rule to live by today. The car parked where it shouldn't be. The individual at a game who isn't cheering or who isn't watching what the rest of the crowd is watching. The person who never does anything wrong, who strives to never draw attention to himself...the one you wouldn't notice because he isn't noteworthy...why do you suppose that is?
We can all do something, and the place to start is arming yourself with some education. I'm not talking history or geometry. I'm talking about an understanding of things as they are, and as they may become if we're not very careful. Learn to appreciate the fact that these things aren't just in the movies that they really happen, and that they can happen to you. Support security measures, and make an individual effort to provide constructive input to the individuals, leaders, and agencies that are shaping security. The back it up 100%, because failure to do so only weakens the effort.
I'm done.
