Whether we would like to admit it or not, aircraft terrorism is a very real
and deadly subject. Inside nothing more than a small suitcase, a carefully
assembled explosive can bring an ending to the lives of countless men, women,
and children, with no preference or regard to age, sex, and religion.
In a single moment and flash, families are torn apart as their loved ones
become victims of terrorism. As the airline price wars have continued to rage,
the amount of fliers increase at phenomenal rates. The airports are filled to
maximum capacity with people all interested in just surviving the long lines and
finally finding relaxation in their aircraft seats with the help of a cold drink
and pillow. Sadly, it has come to the point where one must consider if the
passengers should be relaxing.
The half a billion passengers that rush through a terminal each year are
completely unaware of how much trust they are putting in a small, antiquated
machine that scans their luggage. Teams of employees working for the government
have been successful in passing through metal detectors armed with knives, guns,
and even a discharged hand grenade. Reports Doug Smith of USA Today: “The fact
that the people manning these machines and airport gates make less than someone
at McDonald’s and usually are uneducated average Dicks or Janes, may be part of
the problem.”
In most of England, the guards are expertly trained and receive high pay. The
issue of sabotage and criminal attacks on aircraft is one that is horrifying to
contemplate. However, the potential is ever present and cannot be swept under
some political carpet. The statistics as provided by the NTSB and FAA are ugly,
and the results of these accidents uglier still. The bombing of Pan Am flight
103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988 and another similar bombing
on an Air India flight in June, 1985 are forever etched in our memories. Around
1,000 aircraft passengers have been killed in the past ten years due to
terrorist bomb attacks on civilian aircraft (NTSB).
If the yet to be solved TWA flight 800 mystery proves to be a victim as well,
the number soars to over 1,300 (NTSB). The government is aware of the problems,
but chooses to act after the fact, despite the countless warnings that precede a
massacre given to them by safety experts in the aviation industry. One only
needs look at current and past legislation that follows an occurrence. “In the
next ten years, I believe the likelihood is pretty good that there will be a
bombing of a domestic flight.
There are too many dissident groups in the world and too many nuts willing to
do the unspeakable in order to get into the history books (McGuire).” In the
book that provides a consumer’s examination of airline safety, Collision Course,
by Ralph Nader, numerous employees voicing the need for improved safety and
terrorism countermeasures are quoted. What is so frightening is that examination
of the quotations reveals that they are from the mouths of highly respected
officials who find themselves tangled in the slow process of instituting new
laws to protect travelers by increasing safety regulations.
