The chairman of the House committee that oversees the Transportation Security Administration is calling for an investigation into reports a man stowed away on a flight from New York to Los Angeles.
According to media reports, Nigerian resident Olajide Oluswaseun Noibi used a expired boarding pass last week to board a Virgin Airlines flight at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The man was arrested at Los Angeles airport trying to use another old boarding pass to fly to Atlanta.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Thursday on his Twitter page he was demanding a probe into the JFK security breach.
“I am gravely concerned about the security breach at John F. Kennedy International airport by a Nigerian national last week whereby the man was able to successfully pass through the security checkpoint and fly from New York to Los Angeles using an expired boarding pass issued in another person’s name,” he said in a letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole. “As I understand it, the transportation security officer designated as a travel document checker is vested with the responsibility of verifying the veracity of the identification and confirming that the travel documents are in order — that simply, the name on the identification presented matches the name on a boarding pass — that’s the job.
“Since New York City remains a top terror target, I would expect that transportation security officers deployed in the New York area airports are among the most diligent,” he continued. “Clearly, this was not the case last week.”
Democrats from the northeast expressed concern as well.
“It is inexcusable that nearly ten years after September 11th a security breach like this could occur — especially at a major New York airport,” Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who serves as vice-chairman of the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee, said. “There have been too many breaches at airports in our region and I will continue working with the TSA to demand accountability and improve aviation security.”
A TSA spokesman said that the passenger was subjected “to many layers of security including thorough physical screening,” as are all airport passengers.
“TSA’s initial review of this matter indicates the officer reviewing the passenger’s travel documents did not identify that the passenger was traveling with improper travel documents; however, it is important to note that this passenger received the same thorough physical screening as other passengers,” TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball said in a statement.
“Our approach is designed to ensure that security is not dependent on any single layer of security,” he continued. “Taken together, the layers provide a strong, formidable system that gives us the best chance to detect and prevent attacks before they occur.”
The TSA would not comment further on the case because it was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
(Source: The Hill)
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6 Responses
Maybe the lesson we should take from this is that if we seriously want to verify the documentation of every single passenger, we must slow down the airplane boarding process and double or triple the number of checks of identification before allowing a passenger to board a plane.
I personally do not think it is worth the effort, as flying on commercial planes (which I did at about the same time, and on the same route, as Mr. Noibi) is extremely cumbersome and expensive, and the increase in safety is, in my opinion, very small.
Being that the security personnel for the TSA are for the most part of subnormal intelligence, they no doubt were unable to correctly read the boarding pass and comprehend that the date had expired. I am all in favor of giving dignified work to the mentally challenged but employing them in security only endangers them and the rest of society.
Aryeh Zelasko
Beit Shemesh
No. 2: Where do you get your information about the intelligence of TSA security personnel? Do you have access to their personnel files? Did you read a published report of someone who has tested them? Or are you a person of subnormal chesed who says insulting things about people with unpopular jobs?
I recently went through airport screening by TSA personnel, and the personnel who screened me were of above-average courtesy.
nfgo3: what does above average courtesy have to do with intelligence (above average or sub-normal).
Having said that, I vote for racial profiling. Not one terrorist has been a old white women. Why check them three times?
No. 4: First of all, I never said courtesy has anything to do with intelligence. Courtesy has a lot to do with chesed, and courtesy is an important part of an airport screener’s job. Finding bombs and weapons is more important, but for the bulk of persons screened, courtesy is a nice touch. The Torah commands us to have chesed, not intelligence.
Shauli,
Maybe no old white women, but yes young white women. You would have let Ann Marie Murphy onto the plane. And if you have a policy of never searching old white women, that guarantees that the terrorists will use one. Profiling needs to be smart, not bigoted.