[yonif]

What a big failure indeed. Security must be trained not only to spot the PHYSICAL things (like knives, guns, etc.) BUT also the MENTAL things. Not only should they be using racial profiling immediately, airlines should have staff which will, especially on international flights, question every single passenger at some point or another, maybe when they are waiting in line to check in (questions like where you are going, why, and other special questions following a tactic of looking at the movement of the person and also looking at whether he is contradicting himself. In Israel, for example, I was questioned the same thing 4 times at various different times during the questioning period). Also look more closely at people with one way tickets. Finally, security should have priority over the comfort of the passenger waiting to get on the plane.

[Diogenesis]

WERE THE SCREENERS LAZY, IN DENIAL, OR NAMED "ABU-MOHAMMED"?

[endthematrix]

"The video represents the only footage known to exist showing any of the Sept. 11 hijackers boarding their final flights that fateful morning."

Anybody know rules, regs and any future probability of cameras within the aircraft cabin?

[SpyGuy]

Also look more closely at people with one way tickets.

I'm sure the next time the terrorists execute one of these hijackings, they will be flying on round-trip tickets.

[kyguy]

Actually, the only part of that I would question is that if Khalid Al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi were placed on a terror watch list on 24AUG, why were they allowed to board a plane? I'm not aware of how such lists operated before 12SEP2001: Did they only check names at Immigration, or were the lists made availble to domestic carriers?

As far as their weaponry, before this happened, carrying that sort of thing was permissable, and an everyday occurence. I used to take my pocket knife with me whenever I flew, you could carry nearly any tool as carry-on luggage, and the only things that they were stopping were those that could go boom. These terrorists found a chink in our armor and exploited it. We kept them from getting AK47s on the plane, so they went low-tech and brought knives. Now we're preventing them from bringing knives onto planes, but what's next? Broken glass can cut quite well, a pencil isn't a very effient stilleto but it can get the job done, and I'd be willing to bet that you could construct an innocent-looking plastic item that could have a cutting edge good for a few slashes. The terrorists have already demonstrated that they're willing to go to extreme measures, and that they're quite determined. Certainly, the passengers and flight crew aren't going to follow the old mantra of "comply with their demands and no one gets hurt", but that's an awfully risky last line of protection, don't you think? I hope and pray that our Air Marshals are as well trained as we've been told they are, but until there's a couple on every flight, I don't think I'm convinced that we're not at risk.

You are absolutely correct that it's not just the physical objects we carry through that need to be carefully considered by the security folks. At the same time, though, we should be cautious that we aren't trading essential liberties for temporary security. Taken to the extreme, why not shackle and handcuff every passenger before the aircraft door is closed? Be sure to wear your Depends on the longer flights! And don't show up to the ticket counter without five years' worth of paystubs, tax returns, and bank statements as well as a current copy of your credit report.

Perhaps I'm getting a littly lengthy here. I'm not trying to flame you, I'm really only thinking out loud. I realize that there is a certain balance to all of this, but at some point we need to decide that we have "enough" security that we can stop encroaching on our freedom. And I'm quite afraid that even at that point, shy of putting every passenger in leg irons and handcuffs, we are still going to be vunerable.

[beaversmom]

I like the idea of questioning passengers.

[Jim_Curtis]

They didn't have illegal weapons. They were legally boarded passengers. All the billions taken from the American people to be spent on anti-terrorist measures and nothing was done to stop legally boarded passengers from flying our airplanes into buildings.

I'd like to take a close look at where the mountain of money that was supposed to have been spent on airplane/airport security, actually went.

[rageaholic]

Angry moon god allah was watching over those terrorists that morning.

[CFW]

In this image from a surveillance video from Washington's Dulles Airport the morning of September 11, 2001, and obtained by the Associated Press, one hijacker out of the five hijackers that boarded American Airlines Flight 77 is being pulled aside to undergo additional scrutiny after setting off metal detectors but then permitted to board the fateful flight that later crashed into the Pentagon. Four out of the five hijackers who boarded Flight 77 were pulled aside to undergo additional scrutiny. (AP Photo/APTN)