A TSA employee used sensitive avionics equipment as a ladder while attempting to break into 9 American Airlines planes to test how well they were secured. The TSA agent was able to break into 7 of the planes, raising questions about the security of the aircraft, but also managed to ground the aircraft — causing at least 40 flights to be delayed at O’Hare.
“There is a sign that clearly says, ‘Don’t step,’” American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan told the Chicago Tribune.
The Transportation Security Administration officer was conducting routine checks to make sure that planes parked at the airport overnight were secure from tampering, according to the federal security agency and American Airlines, which owns and operates American Eagle.
But while ensuring that aircraft doors were locked properly, the inspector either stepped onto or grabbed sensitive avionics probes mounted on the fuselage of nine American Eagle planes, officials said.
The TSA defended the officer’s actions.
“Our inspector was following routine procedure for securing the aircraft that were on the tarmac,” a Chicago based TSA official told ABCNews.com.
TSA Snafu Grounds Nine Planes at O’Hare Field [ABCNews] (Thanks, Shawn!)
Aviation inspector’s action raises more questions at O’Hare [Chicago Tribune]
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You guys are all on form today, funniest damn thread I’ve read in weeks.
You know, I’m always interested in the media spin on a story. The Chicago Tribune attempted to convey concern over planes not being locked (front page article). Consumerist thinks it’s an issue that TSA was there in the first place, using the phrase ‘breaking in’ as opposed to ‘security checks’. Hmmmm…
I’m surprised the TSA didn’t think of knocking out the landing gear just to bring the plane down to ground level to “inspect” it better.
Simple solution: Expand their charter to include scrutiny of aviation security agencies.
If they don’t self-destruct from that Star Trekkish ploy, put them in a giant squirrel cage and we get a durable alternative energy source.
@Quilt: So by the same token, you should have no problem with the fire marshal torching your house in order to test its fire safety.
Right
I think hidden in the sarcasm of the “No Step” sign comments is the insinuation that once someone is able to get that close to a plane it really doesn’t matter if it is locked or not.
You don’t have to worry about terrorists entering planes if the airport perimeter is secure. It’s TSA’s responsibility to ensure that it is. Why wasn’t the inspector checking the perimeter instead?
Hey TSA: Secure the perimeter!
@WiglyWorm: indeed. I’m getting tired of the TSA having a “blank check” and a “get out of jail free card” for everything they do. They act like, and are, completely unaccountable for their actions.
When the hammer falls on the TSA, it wont be pretty. I only hope it drops soon.
Reason #352095 why Kip Hawley is an idiot!
You gotta hand it to the TSA, they are clever. If the plane is broken, it can’t fly, and if it can’t fly, it can’t be hijacked. Man, I had them pegged as being idiots too!
@LogicalOne:
That’s the one thing I kept thinking of during this whole discussion. “How can the terrorists even get that close to a plane if the TSA has secured the airport?”
@Tmoney02:
Senator: Alaska, General.
General: It is a very prestigious assignment.
@zentex:
Doesn’t that describe just about every government agency though?
Complete incompetence, ridiculous excuses, mind-numbing bureaucracy, and fiscal incomptence coupled with a lack of an accountability and oversight, that’s our entire government to a T. And it’s nothing new, so stop blaming Bush or Clinton or Bush Sr. It goes MUCH further back than that.
Seriously though, TSA’s security ‘protocols’ seem like they are designed by someone who has never even been near an airport, much less ever seen or flown on a plane.
@DallasPath: Doesn’t that describe just about every government agency though?
At least for the past several years, yes.
@DallasPath: Kip Hawley, the TSA director, is a lawyer with no law enforcement experience. I don’t believe he has any flight experience either.
@SkokieGuy: Thank you for bringing that up. Most people don’t realize that part of the reason thoroughly-inspected personal baggage is being assessed with fees is to make room for more lucrative cargo like US Mail.
None of this cargo is inspected at even a cursory level. Oh, sure, you can’t drop parcel of a certain size into a mailbox, but once that mailbox is sorted according to level 2 ZIP code, it just gets thrown in a sack and tossed on the airplane you’re riding in.
Sure is safe, hunh? Heckuva job, TSA.
First, a comment on the person in question. This “inspector’s” actions show that he is unfit to hold any position of responsibility. Aircraft external temperature/airspeed probes/antennas are clearly labeled if they have any chance of being misused like this. They do not look like weigh-holding-capable ladder steps and someone would have to be quite oblivious to think they were appropriate to use for any such purpose. This guy clearly disregarded the written warnings and inconvenienced hundreds of people. And to accomplish WHAT exactly? How can a person like this continue to be employed?
Second, a comment on the TSA. This reflects the level of incompetence that is pervasive throughout the TSA, and the worthless level of people they have staffed this organization with. No person with any training around aircraft would do such a stupid, ridiculous thing. They hired someone who was absolutely incompetent and had no training. That seems to be the standard bottom-of-the-barrel that this agency is comfortable with.
Finally, we as taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the repair and cleanup of this fucking ridiculousness.
Ah yes, one more shining example of why the pubes they hire to work at the TSA are completely unfit for the responsibilities of keeping the people in this country safe. Not that I think this officer, or any of the others, really care too much about our safety – they are, after all, far too busy power-tripping to give a rat’s behind. But at least the illusion of giving a damn would be helpful.
And the TSA has the press release here:
[www.tsa.gov]
that almost attempts to justify his actions by saying that he was successful in breaking into some of the planes.
Never mind that damaging avionics would make the planes useless to someone who broke in.
Next, maybe they should have this inspector set fire to a few aircraft, to show that they were a fire danger.
I think this is good. If it was that easy for him to get on, it will be just as easy for someone to sneak onto the tarmac and plant a bomb. Go TSA!!!!!!
So…the obvious question becomes… when will they create a another NEW gov’t agency to keep the TSA away from planes?
@ScramDiggyBooBoo: I think this is good. If it was that easy for him to get on, it will be just as easy for someone to sneak onto the tarmac and plant a bomb.
Why would someone need to go to the effort of breaking into an aircraft to plant a bomb? You are already on the ground next to the plane, with access to all sorts of aircraft parts and places.
@moeman1024: Ah Pentagon Wars, what a great movie.
TSA: See your planes are badly secured, I got right in with this blowtorch.
Airline: How the heck did you get a blowtorch to the plane?
TSA: We snuck it by Frank when he was body cavity searching some poor schlub after we hid nail clippers and a bottle of Prell in his bag.
Both HAHAHAHAH!!!
@kepler11:
That’s quite a bold statement you make.
@Tmoney02:
and if all else fails for these incompetent TSA folks there’s always going to be a home for them at the Department of Motor Vehicles… where officiousness and a total lack of regard for your fellow man are a prerequisite on the application.
@kepler11:
How can a person like this continue to be employed? Um, have you had no contact with actual humans for an extended period of time? People like this vastly outnumber logical sane people with common sense.
Everyone has a co-worker who continually screws up but never gets fired. Thank the lawyers for this one…companies are terrified of getting hit with a wrongful termination suit. If you want to fire someone, you have to have an insane amount of documentation and even then you still might lose in court. Many people are not afraid to play the race card or the gender card or the age card if they think they will lose their job. Worse yet is the employee who decides to seek revenge.
During college, I did research in a biochemistry lab on campus. Several of their projects involved live animals and they had to follow very stringent government regulations regarding the welfare and treatment of the animals. There was a lab employee who was ridiculously incompetent (wouldn’t show up on time, called in sick continually, would fiddle with equipment she shouldn’t have been touching and subsequently would contaminate experiments). She did not work with the animals directly, but on occasion, she did have to go out to where they were housed. They finally got enough on her to fire her and she brought the FDA down on them with allegations of animal mistreatment. It was eventually proven false, but they had to stop the research during the investigation. Grants were lost and PhD candidates had to put their careers on hold. Her excuse was that she was fired because she complained about the treatment of the animals.
The fact that some of the planes were not secure doesn’t excuse the inspector’s stupidity for stepping on the pitot tubes. They’d have been just as damaged if they were all buttoned up tight.
I saw the “No Step” sign, so I jumped on it.
For all the guys mentioning the “no step” signs, there aren’t any on a pitot tube. It’s one of those parts that doesn’t need the signage, because you’d have to be REALLY stupid to try to climb up on it, and think that the little silver tube held on by four screws is designed to take your weight.
@ScramDiggyBooBoo: Like it was said somewhere before on the thread.
Almost anybody with a basic knowledge of aircraft can get in, almost all of them have no locks as the general public might understand. There are ways of securing the aircraft against tampering, but most of them rely in tamper-proof evidence placed when leaving.
Any way, thats beside the point, the real issue is that an unqualified worker (a.k.a. simple drone), damaged an integral and indispensable instrument on the airframe. No pilot will fly with damaged pitot tubes. Also the No Step warnings are there not to deter, but as simple warning for mechanics or other workers of sensitive avionics/equipment in that area.
Suddenly a line that Ed Harris made in Apollo 13 comes to mind:
“Please don’t tell me that this is a government operation.”
Cheers!
Does AA own O’Hare airport? Who is in charge of security there?
Planes don’t have locks.
Idiot TSA person broke planes because he or she is exactly what a government employee is- rude, incompetent, unfit for any other job, and futureless without the position.
Also, TSA is the worst.
From the article:
“…the agency defended the qualifications of its inspectors, noting that they “undergo a 4-week basic training course…”
Oh, well excuse me! Four WHOLE weeks of training. Well then obviously it’s the plane’s fault for not being strong enough to avoid being broken by the extensively trained TSA agent.
What a surprise, TSA agents are always so well trained.
Isn’t TSA tasked with keeping people away from the airplanes? When did they become concerned with breaking into airplanes?
Aren’t most TSA employees paid $50K a year to shuffle those grey plastic bins? How did they let one of those clowns out on the tarmac?
If I were American, I would just send TSA a bill. Find out who the idiot TSA employee is, get his/her manager’s name, and send them a bill. Send a copy to the newspaper with the title, “Your tax dollars at work.”
I figure it’s at least $2,000,000+ in lost airfare, plus the repairs to the airplanes. 40 flights, let’s say 100 passengers, assuming a mix of smaller regional jets and some medium-sized jets. At $500 a ticket, that’s $2,000,000. Send them a bill. TSA needs to learn that they can’t send Laverne & Shirley out on the tarmac with their trusty screwdriver, pliers, and hammer.
It strikes me that we have at last discovered just who the terrorists are. They are called TSA and have since their creation been busy distroying the airline industry. What we need to do is get rid of TSA. We would all be freer and safer with out it.
It wasn’t the pitot tube the guy was climbing on. Even if it were, they’re not marked with NO STEP signs, because those signs are only placed in locations people working on the aircraft might reasonably be expected to step. Nobody with the slightest glimmer of a clue is going to step on a probe, and people without that tiny piece of clue shouldn’t be permitted to crawl around the aircraft. This guy was an untrained nimrod, and should have no more been permitted to walk up to it and start poking around than any random guy who decides to walk onto a tarmac. That’s part of why airport security *exists* in the first place: to keep untrained morons away from the shiny go-fast birds.
What this guy was walking on were the Total Air Temperature probes. The plane needs this so the Air Data Computer can compute minor things like true airspeed. Inaccurate airspeed values can cause a crash; bad sensor data caused by moisture contamination recently led to the crash and total destruction of a $1.4 billion B-2 bomber.
This idiot was directly endangering the lives of hundreds of people. He shouldn’t just be fired, he should be criminally prosecuted, as should his superiors. The TSA has no mandate or authority to climb around on airplanes looking for unlocked doors.
Dick move from a dick agency.
in for push-starting and clutch poppage.
If it’s possible for someone to wander around on the tarmac damaging planes, i’d say the TSA has more problems than planes being broken into…
Thanks for making me late, TSA-Gestapo!