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Back to the Airline threats...................

Are Euro airlines
inviting next 9-11?
Officials see lax security
on cross-Atlantic flights

Posted: June 14, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com – a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the last 25 years.

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Airline-industry security officials say the potential for another 9-11-style attack on the U.S. is still high – especially from foreign, cross-Atlantic flights not heeding security precautions adopted by U.S. carriers following the 2001 terrorist-hijacking suicide assaults.

Risk analysis evaluations done by security officials show the threat of flight from Europe hitting a major U.S. target is still high, reveals Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by WND.

Trans-Atlantic flights more vulnerable to terror?

The report indicates security officials have hard intelligence terrorists based in Europe or in the Middle East might once again use a passenger plane to hit a U.S. target – not necessarily a high-profile target such as in the case of the Twin Towers or the Pentagon, but rather a target that could result in mass destruction such as nuclear and chemical plants or ammunition depots.

The analysis is based in part on the fact passengers of diverse ethnicities and religions use cross-Atlantic flights from such countries as the UK and Germany. Air-travel security officers are of the opinion such a hijacking attack can be planned to occur at the end of a long flight when passengers and cabin crew are less alert.

One major weakness, which terrorists might exploit to their advantage in such a scenario, is what analysts call "the knock on the door surprise," reports G2 Bulletin. Many airlines arriving in the U.S., they say, whether originating in Europe or elsewhere, do not adhere to basic security requirements such as keeping the cockpit door locked from before takeoff until after landing.

One option being weighed is to force every airline, whether carrying a U.S. flag or not, to employ rigid measures, including training of cabin personnel on how to behave if a suspicious passenger tries to reach the cockpit area.

In one scenario, hijackers reach the cockpit by going to the washroom closest to it. This is definitely a possibility for business or first-class passengers, or even for others who simply choose the right moment to walk into the restricted area.

One analyst believes terrorists might try to threaten the lives of passengers and cabin crew to convince the pilots to open the cockpit door. Such a situation could be the most difficult to handle, since some foreign pilots are not trained to handle the horrific possibility of passengers and crew being executed by the terrorists.

Experts stress the need to have a fortified cockpit door, including the possibility of adding a small video camera covering the immediate area around the door and maybe even throughout the cabin.

Not every flight arriving in the U.S. originates from countries with high-security standards, and terrorists are known to have the ability to examine possibilities on aircraft arriving from all corners of the world.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38931