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September 11, 2001 is a day that will not be soon forgotten. The effects of this tragedy reach every aspect of our lives, from the economy, to foreign policy, to travel, and especially airline safety. Anyone who has traveled can tell you the extent of new security in place at airports. Besides checking travelers belongings, there are other proposed precautions, such as using biometrics to identify passengers, placing sky marshals on nearly every flight, creating stronger cockpit doors, arming pilots, allowing off duty police to carry weapons on-board, increasing security presence at airports, and giving people other than President Bush the authority to have commercial airlines shot down. There are too many ideas to even list. Improving security both on and off the plane can help prevent another terrorist attack, but certain proposed measures are taking it too far.
Use of biometrics has already begun at a South Carolina airport, where employees there have there retinas scanned to enter certain areas of the site. This technology is readily available. There are several methods using biometrics that could be put into use in our airports, such as retina scanning, face recognition, and fingerprint scanning. Face recognition technology was tested and found to be 100 % accurate in identifying those in a sample of 6, 000 people. Using these technologies can make security aware of who exactly is getting on an airplane.
If these machines were connected to a database with peoples basic information including records of previous arrests, outstanding warrants, etc. , security officers could make sure people not in the database, such as foreign travelers, did not pose a threat to other passengers. Not only could it help prevent and attack such as 9 / 11 s, but if someone had any warrants out for their arrest they would be caught. Increased security presence is now at every airport, and it should stay that way. President Bush proposes that airline security to not be taken over by the government, rather federalize training and inspection. He also calls for four to five thousand troops nationwide to be placed at airports. He wants each state to do this, and they will be reimbursed by the federal government.
Placing these troops at the airport will make travelers feel safer and deter another attack. The easy part of solving our airline security problem is on the ground, the real challenge is to figure out how to protect passengers and civilians below when in-flight. Stronger cockpit doors seem like one solution, however, aviation experts agree that it is not as easy as it sounds. They say that the doors would have to be not only strong, but porous. This would allow the pressure in the cabin and in the cockpit to be the same. Some people have proposed that pilots should have a gun in the cockpit.
Pilots should have a firearm in the cockpit, but it should be used only for their personal safety. Pilots should not be in charge of maintaining order in the cabin. Allowing off-duty police officers to carry their guns is a simple step. But you cannot guarantee that there will be an off-duty police officer on every flight. Having a sky marshal in the air would make the flight more secure. 100, 000 people have downloaded an application as of Thursday off of the internet. These sky marshals would be required to have previous law enforcement experience.
Some are already being trained. This type of security would be extremely costly though. They would make $ 35, 000 to $ 85, 000 per year. If you multiply the number of sky marshals this would require by their salaries, the number would be enormous.
Taking every precaution on the ground and arming pilots as last resort is as far as security should go. Everyone wants to feel safe when they fly, but the truth is, flying is still safe. People need to get on with their lives. There is going to be a risk in any travel you do. As a nation we are focusing solely on air security, but there are many other problems to consider.
As a last resort, if a commercial jet poses a risk to civilians below, President Bush has authorized others the authority to have it shot down. Two star officer Maj. Gen. Larry K. Arnold at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, has the authority over the continental U.
S. , if the president was unable to be reached. Lt. Gen Norton A. Schwartz, a three star general at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska has authority over Alaskan flights. Just days after the hijacking, Bush and Sec. of Defense, Donald Rums field made the new rules of engagement that give these two officers the power to make such a decision.
The chances they will ever need to make this decision are very slim. The President would make the decision unless he otherwise could not be contacted. Hopefully, they would not be faced with this decision because airline safety has improved and will continue to improve. People need to get back on planes; the airline and tourism industry is a vital part of our economy. Safety should be strictest on the ground. Once in flight, there is little that can be done.
Airlines are safe and although many are nervous about the recent events, it most likely wont happen again.
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