Thefts point to potential airport security vulnerability

Aug 15, 2006 3:21 PM

A recent theft of guns from checked baggage at O'Hare International Airport points to a serious weakness in aviation security that will be difficult to pinpoint because thousands of employees ranging from pilots to airline caterers carry clearances allowing them to walk onto airplanes.
The guns stolen from the bags -- all involving passengers departing O'Hare on United Airlines -- probably are being taken out of the airport and sold or used in crimes, federal and local authorities said in response to a Chicago Tribune report on the disappearing weapons.
As many as a dozen guns, some belonging to police officers and military personnel, disappeared from bags checked at the United terminal this year and in 2005, according to sources familiar with the investigation being conducted by the FBI, the Chicago Police Department and the Transportation Security Administration.
"It doesn't matter how many guns are involved. If it is one gun, it is a very serious matter," United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski told the Chicago Tribune. She said the airline is conducting an internal investigation and cooperating with the law-enforcement agencies, but she declined to say what United is doing differently to safeguard air travelers.
Federal security authorities at O'Hare and city aviation officials dismissed the likelihood of a more serious problem involving the potential for terrorism, the newspaper reports.
But the breach reflects the risk that stolen guns could be smuggled onto airplanes for use in an attack, security experts say. In addition, the apparent ease with which employees have opened checked baggage already screened for explosives raises concerns that a bomb could be planted inside the bags anywhere between the ticket counters and aircraft.
"The problem at the back doors of any airport is that with so many workers authorized to go behind the sterile security zone, any one of them could hide a gun or a bomb in an airplane lavatory," says John Mullins, a security manager for Robinson Aviation in Oklahoma City.
Checked baggage that has been screened for explosives is considered "sterile" from a security standpoint, meaning no unauthorized personnel are allowed to touch it.
Federal security officials insist that the stolen guns do not represent a lapse in security that could endanger passengers because a multilayered security system is in place to regularly challenge employees about their activities and whereabouts at the airport, the newspaper reports. In addition, all employees undergo background and criminal history checks and fingerprinting.
"Once that employee is badged, they become a partner in security and are responsible for upholding the regulations," says TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding.

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