"Another reminder of a gaping hole in security
In August of 2018 an airline employee for Alaska Airlines used his security clearance to access and then steal a commercial airplane.
He was able to tow it out of the hanger, board the aircraft, and then powered the aircraft using a preflight checklist and took off from the Seattle Tacoma International Airport and flew the plane for 73 minutes before it crashed and the man was killed.
The link below reveals a recently released video showing how easy it was for the employee to steal the airplane: Video of employee stealing a plane
No getting past the TSA and no advance security checks around the airplane allowed this employee to steal an airplane that could have been used for an act of terror. If this can happen from the 8th largest airport in North America it could happen anywhere. It was the wakeup call airports should have needed to implement far stricter security protocols and yet, little has been done.
The most recent incident of a man stealing a private aircraft with intentions to crash it into a Walmart is yet another reminder of how our focus on aviation security is in the wrong place. While we spend billions of dollars on security for inside the airport (and rightfully so) we spend far less securing aircraft at airports around the country.
Sadly, it would take little for a commercial jet to be stolen and flown from an airport and then used for an act of terror. Even with the best emergency response team (fighter aircraft scrambled) it would take precious time to intercept a stolen aircraft - meaning it could be used to strike a close target before being stopped.
As we approach the anniversary of 9/11 much of the attention remains on how to stop a past attack from taking place again. I wish we were spending more time focusing on how we can stop a future attack, using a different method, before it is too late."
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