Student charged for carrying weapons on planes

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7061174.htm ^

[StatesEnemy]

WASHINGTON - Box cutters and other dangerous items remained on a pair of Southwest Airlines jets for five weeks even though the college student who smuggled them aboard sent federal authorities a signed e-mail detailing what he had done, according to court papers unsealed on Monday.

The incident raises troubling new questions about airport security after the government has spent billions of dollars trying to strengthen procedures after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

During a visit to Duke University on Monday, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge called the latest incident "a bad experience."

"But we may learn something about it that we can apply across the country," Ridge said.

On Monday, Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon aboard an aircraft, which could bring him up to 10 years in prison.

The junior at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., was released without bail but ordered to stay away from airports and off planes.

In an e-mail to the Transportation Security Administration, Heatwole said he snuck the items onboard the Southwest flights as "an act of civil disobedience" to bring attention to gaps in airline security, according to an FBI affidavit.

Heatwole told federal agents that he went through normal security procedures at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Sept. 14 and at Raleigh-Durham on Sept. 12 - the day after the two-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

In his e-mail to the TSA, he said he carried box cutters, modeling clay intended to resemble plastic explosives, matches and liquid bleach hidden in sunscreen bottles in a carry-on bag or concealed in his clothes. After sneaking the banned items on the planes he hid them in the planes' lavatories.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the 19 hijackers used box cutters to gain control of the jetliners they crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. At the time it was legal to bring them aboard.

The e-mail was signed "Nat Heatwole" and listed a telephone number. The items were discovered in plastic bags in the bathrooms of the two airliners and contained notes about when and where the items were carried aboard. They were signed "3891925," which is the reverse of Heatwole's birthday: 5/29/1983.

Heatwole's e-mail claimed credit for six airline security breaches between Feb. 7 and Sept. 14. It was unclear if he put banned items on the four other flights he listed.

While the TSA received the e-mail on Sept. 15, it was not sent to the FBI until last Friday, after a Southwest Airlines maintenance worker discovered the items in one plane's bathroom when it landed in New Orleans. A similar discovery was made on the second plane, then in Houston.

Ridge said Monday that the e-mail was not forwarded immediately because it was not considered an imminent threat. He said the TSA receives a large number of e-mails containing information about potential threats. But he said protocols need to be reviewed.

"That the system is so vulnerable that a 20-year-old college student can penetrate it so easily … it says a lot about where we are today with airport security," said Billie Vincent, a former security chief with the Federal Aviation Administration.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers promised investigative hearings into systemic flaws, among them lax training for the new army of federal airport screeners.

But some critics blame Congress for some aviation-security problems. Lawmakers recently killed a plan that would have required air cargo to be screened much in the same manner that passengers are.

[StatesEnemy]

TSA is a useless piece of chit.

[JohnGalt]

Yup.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Where are all the liberal groups to defend this kid?

[StatesEnemy]

Don't know...

He's an idiot. But the feds are BIGGER idiots.

[StatesEnemy]

Actually, the TSA should give this guy a job... maybe they can learn a few things.

[dead]

[Feiny]

hahhaha great chart!

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

TSA is a useless piece of chit.

Yep. But, how many Americans would tolerate the level of security require to stop ALL potential weapons. For example, are we ready for the TSA to open every bottle of liquid and test it? You’d have to show up 2 days early to board a flight.

Or, we could all fly drugged, bound, and naked. ;)

[Orangedog]

He doesn't need the libs because the justice department will get a lot of bad press if they try to make an example out of this kid. His biggest crime was making the entire TSA look like the multi-billion dollar horses a$$ that it is. They will damn near cavity search 75 year old great grandmothers from Nebraska but won't even slow down Akmed and four of his cousins as they make their way to the gate.

[Grut]

Pretty much a classic case of beheading the bearer of bad tidings.

[Orangedog]

He pointed out some serious security problems that have arisen from our wonderfully overpaid govenment employee screeners. He is making the point that the GOP in the House and Senate refused to even try to make. They were beaten by Daschle and Gephart with a stupid slogan like "You can't professionalize unless you federalize!"

[At _War_With_Liberals]

A govt official today at a press conference said that the items on the plane were the real danger here.

How much crap are we going to take from these beaurocrats???

There are 180,000 workers at HS alone, and no one thought that security on the ground was important, because people could not see it. Airline industry first, safety of my family 2nd.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Also, some say 'big deal'.

The next attack nned not be a bomb.

Picture one Islamonazi with a boxcutter. He slashes the throats of three children, and is then subdued and killed by angry citizens.

Imagine the impact. HUGE.

And this would be fairly easy for 1 person to pull off.

[Steve_Seattle]

"This kid has embarrassed us - throw the book at him." I certainly hope they don't try this kid as a terrorist, when his motive was to show that the federal agencies protecting us from terrorism are dangerously inept.

[Steve_Seattle]

This kid was kind of stupid in one respect - if they HAD caught him with that stuff, he would have had a hard time explaining he was only doing it to test the system. "Yeah, right, kid."

[Orangedog]

It looks like he was sure enough about the lack of security to not only try, but succeed. He knew that no one was going to listen to him unless he got their attention in a big way.

[StatesEnemy]

I think he sent the emails prior to the "stunt".

The TSA just didn't get around to reading them for 5 weeks or so... They obviously don't operate on "piece work".

[Malsua]

>>He knew that no one was going to listen to him unless he got their attention in a big way. <<

Yeah, he sure did!

Now we know for certain the next time this poor bastard gets on a plane the words "Cavity Search" probably will be an understatement. Of course, Mohammad bin bombit from Yemen will sail on through because it wouldn't be PC.

All I can say is I'm damn glad my plane got off the ground just prior to this kid's stunt. Had we taken the later flight as was planned, we'd have been stuck.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Give him a job to humble the beaurocracy. Definitely.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

The next attack need not be a bomb.

Picture one Islamonazi with a boxcutter. He slashes the throats of three children, and is then subdued and killed by angry citizens.

Imagine the impact. HUGE.

And this would be fairly easy for 1 person to pull off.