AIRPLANE STOWAWAY Need for answers is urgent

Boston Globe ^

[outpostinmass2]

THE DEATH of Delvonte Tisdale was haunting enough. Authorities believe the 16-year-old stowed away in the wheel well of a US Airways jet in Charlotte and then plummeted to the ground in Milton as the plane dropped its landing gear on approach to Logan Airport. But how he got on board raises fresh questions about airport security — or the continuing lack thereof.

Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!0diggsdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis Last month, as public outrage was approaching the boiling point over the alleged indignity of full-body scanners and pat-downs, and just two weeks after package bombs nearly made their way onto US-bound jets, the troubled 16-year-old boy sneaked out of home in the middle of the night and made his way 18 miles to Charlotte’s international airport. Once there, he managed what should be impossible in the post-9/11 era: He either sneaked past regular security, climbed over a barbed-wire fence, or perhaps hitched a ride on a vehicle with security clearance, with no one seeing him. He then somehow got onto the tarmac, with no one seeing him. Finally, he climbed up into the landing-wheel well of a jet, with no one seeing him. Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating rightfully said, “If that was a terrorist, that could be a bomb planted on there undetected.’’

[Don Corleone]

Thousands of unscreened people enter and leave airport grounds daily. They are called employees.

[ImProudToBeAnAmerican]

Darwin award nominee...

[reagan_fanatic]

He probably froze to death before the landing gear was lowered anyway. Not a great place to hitch a ride.

[jessduntno]

Will we now employ 150,000 TSA Union Guards to police the tarmac of every airport in America 24/7?

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

It appears that Delvonte was a big hit in Milton.

[mad_as_he$$]

16 year old? Don’t think so.

[ClearCase_guy]

If he had been a suicide bomber, he could have been very effective.

Security at our airports is terrible -- probably because all of our emphasis is on teaching law-abiding citizens how to submit to government control.

[Sybeck1]

All the while they are worried about what a nun has in her corset.

[TSgt]

Delvonte Tisdale, seen in his ROTC uniform

[jennings2004]

But, but, you must not have gotten the memorandum...everything is okay, the DHS, the President, the Brown Shirts...they all have your back..just have a great old time and all will be well and you will not have to attend reeducation classes anytime soon...got it?

[RexBeach]

TSA, once again, during a sterling job.

Have these boobs ever caught anyone who was worth catching?

[sam_paine]

WRONG! Classic “Center Fuel Tank” misdirection!

This guy was abducted by aliens.

So they set up this crazy side story to distract!

[23 Everest]

When the landing gear came up after take off he was crushed. There only room in that cavity for the gear. Not a body. His bruised & battered body was then frozen and when they lowered the gear he fell out like a Popsicle.

[Blood of Tyrants]

“Have these boobs ever caught anyone who was worth catching?”

No, but they have caught a feel on a boob or two.

[Robe]

This is the wheel well of a Boeing 737, notice it doesn't have doors that cover the wheels when retracted.
There is no room for a human body in there, he would have been crushed when gear retracted.

However the nose wheel well has considerable room , here he could have survived the gear retraction. He would have passed out from hypoxia, before being frozen at altitude

[cotton1706]

I grew up right outside of Milton.

I’ve seen the stories of the stowaways from islands, like Cuba and Puerto Rico. Those I can sort of understand. But a bus ticket from Charlotte to Boston couldn’t cost that much. He was a fool.

[PLMerite]

“...the troubled 16-year-old boy...”

Wait, I thought he was an Honor Student. Or maybe “an aspiring rap artist” or something...

Sad way to go.

[IMTOFT]

“They are called employees.”

I travel frequently for business. I was waiting in the security line when an airport employee (at one on the restaurants on that concourse) went to the front of the line, threw his backpack on the belt, walked through the detector with his shoes on (a shootable offense for the traveling public), set off the metal detector, and the TSA guy just waved him on...

[Vermont Lt]

Unless they started putting O2 up over 10,000 feet he couldn’t breathe either.

I always tell my kids that the internet is a great tool for doing just a bit of research before trying some new, and stupid idea. Most of them have been tried already.