SINCE
no U.S. newspapers or
broadcast media are reminding
their readers of the crash of
EgyptAir 990 in 1999, we
provide this article and links
(below).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/egyptair/0,2759,192889,00.html

London, Friday December 3, 1999

Inadequate security at dozens of American airports was exposed yesterday in a report published by United States government investigators.

Officials from
the US federal aviation administration
(FAA) repeatedly breached security
measures at major airports, six years
after a similar inquiry exposed similar
failings.

JFK airport, in New York – from where on October 31 EgyptAir flight 990 took off less than an hour before crashing into the
Atlantic, killing all 217 people on board
– was among the airports criticised by inspectors.

[EgyptAir 990]The
EgyptAir disaster has not been linked to lax security at JFK or at the flight’s original departure airport of Los Angeles.
But the report seems certain to be seized on by sceptics in Egypt and elsewhere, who dispute US claims that the crash was probably caused by the actions of the flight’s relief co-pilot, Gameel al-Batouti.

In a series of tests earlier this year, FAA investigators penetrated secure areas at major US airports more often than they failed, the report says. Between November 1998 and
April 1999 investigators made 173 attempts to breach airport security and succeeded in 117 cases – a 68% success rate.

Among the techniques used by the investigators in their secret tests were: following airport and airline staff through doors into controlled areas (“piggybacking”); riding in unguarded lifts; walking through departure gates and cargo areas unchallenged and unchecked; and driving through unstaffed vehicle entrances.

In some cases, the FAA investigators boarded aircraft unchecked and without tickets and were “seated and ready for departure”.

A similar investigation in 1993 found virtually identical weaknesses in security. The FAA admitted it had been
“slow to take actions necessary to strengthen access control requirements and adequately oversee the implementation of existing controls”.

The published version of the report does not identify any of the airports at which security was breached, or specify which breaches took place at which airports.

But according to a leak to the
Washington Post newspaper, three of the worst affected airports were JFK,
Chicago’s O’Hare – both of which handle national and international flights – and
Reagan National, Washington DC’s main domestic airport. The main airports at San
Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Salt Lake City and Honolulu were also thought to have been criticised, the Post reported.

The most successful technique for breaching security was piggybacking, which worked on 71 out of the 75 occasions it was attempted. The least successful was attempted vehicle entry, which failed 36
times out of 43.

Investigators boarded aircraft belonging to 35 different airlines on 117
occasions, according to the report. Some aircraft were boarded several times as investigators wandered on and off the plane unchallenged. In 43 instances, there was no one on board the planes to challenge the unauthorised entry.

On 25 occasions the investigators deliberately set off emergency exit alarm systems in order to test airport security responses. On 10 of these instances, no personnel responded to the alarms.

The FAA said yesterday that it had already taken steps to tighten security at
79 airports since it had seen the results of the tests last spring.

A security firm at Miami international airport was charged yesterday with failing to carry out adequate checks on the backgrounds of 22 employees and with lying about it to federal regulators.

Related
items on The Guardian website: