Security Briefs - April 2-9
The Latest Headlines:
- Ridge Says U.S. May Outfit Airlines with Missile Defenses
- Regional Bioterror Plans Not Up to Local Standards
- American Airlines to Ground Several Planes for Security Violations
- Regional Bioterror Plans Not Up to Local Standards
Ridge Says U.S. May Outfit Airlines with Missile Defenses
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told the New York Times that the federal government may equip commercial aircraft with antimissile devices.Ridge said that the government should pay for research into technology to protect commercial jets from shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, the Times reported.
The Times said that a similar attack in November was directed at an Israeli jet by terrorists linked to al-Qaeda. Israel regularly installs antimissile devices on its aircraft, the Times said. Transport Topics
Regional Bioterror Plans Not Up to Local Standards
Planning for a bioterrorist attack on a regional level has lagged behind local plans, the General Accounting Office said Tuesday.The report by the investigative arm of Congress was cited by Bloomberg as being critical of regional and state authorities, many of whom do not have cohesive plans to deal with a bioterrorist event.
Bloomberg said that the report told officials that states need to coordinate more with each other, and border states need to work closer with Canada and Mexico.
The report said that states are worried there are no guidelines for them to follow, Bloomberg reported. The GAO recommended that the Departments of Homeland Security and of Health and Human Services issue some benchmarks for states to model. Transport Topics
American Airlines to Ground Several Planes for Security Violations
American Airlines said that when federal guidelines regarding secure cockpits go into effect Wednesday, it will have to ground several of its aircraft that do not yet have bullet-proof cockpit doors, the Wall Street Journal reported.A spokesman for AMR Corp., American's parent company, said that at least five planes would have to wait for their new door kits to arrive before they can fly after the deadline passes Wednesday, the Journal reported.
The Journal added that several other airlines may have to keep some of their fleets on the ground until the install the new security doors.
American Airlines said that the grounding should not cause significant disruption in services, the Journal reported. Transport Topics
