Danger Room says that the TSA is just now getting serious about the threat of shoulder-launched missiles being used against U.S. airliners:
[T]hat seems to be the rational behind a request for automated software that will help the Transportation Security Administration calculate the "footprint" of weapons that could threaten aircraft at key airports.
As the solicitation notes: "Since 2003, the Security Assessments Team has been conducting MANPADS Assessments domestically and abroad with limited technical support. The Security Assessments Team has always lacked the use of software that would identify and analyze a specific threat area while interactively considering all the significant parameters of a successful attack on a commercial aircraft."
Well, it's now mid-2007 -- no time like the present to get some help.
Buddy of mine is an airline's chief of operations in Philly, and he told me three (I just found the link) two years ago they were talking about the threat. You can walk almost to the end of the short runways at PHL, and you can drive under the takeoff path of the long runways. (Philly's airport is a fucked-up design shoved between a highway and a river, so runway lengths are an issue.) It would be easy for someone with a missile launcher to take out a large airliner here - hell, with a large-caliber gun I could put a bunch of holes in any of the commuter flights. Of course, when I fly, I worry more about shoddy maintenance and pilot error than terrorism. But still ....
Man, if this kind of talk gets my favorite fishing spots along Hog Island road closed down, I'm going to be pissed! I guess it's a reasonable trade-off for airliner safety...sigh.
Posted by: Andrew | August 03, 2007 at 04:34 PM
Good point. Boats on the Delaware would make great missile platforms.
Posted by: Mithras | August 03, 2007 at 05:18 PM