Aviation Security

 Hi All,

    For this week's blog I have chosen the threat of Aircraft Hi-Jacking. Perhaps the most infamous version of this of that most everyone is familiar with is 9/11. Hi-Jacking is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as to steal or commandeer a vehicle by force (Hijack 2021). This obviously is done by a person or persons with nefarious purposes, so how does the TSA or Transportation Security Administration combat this? They have layers of security that can be broken down into 20 major components. These layers are both readily apparent and done behind the scenes. An argument could be made that they all are relevant to Anti-hijacking/ terrorism practices, but I'll identify those that seem to be a direct confrontation. The first layer of security is Intelligence. When someone books a flight, the person or persons are subjected against a database of known or suspected person's of interest, the idea being that the TSA knows who is on each flight and if a specific person warrants more attention than the others (Inside look: Tsa layers of security 2017). Do they stick out before even checking in with the airline? Are they already listed on a no-fly list? Another couple of layers would be found during the check-in process known as behavior detection and bag screening. Are the people checking into the flight exhibiting behavioral clues that could tell of nefarious intentions? Are they excessively nervous or emotionally upset? The TSA agents are trained to identify these potential indicators early and often. The baggage screening process is primarily checking for weapons or explosives that could aid a potential hi-jacker in-flight, if these tools were found beforehand it could decrease the likelihood of one occurring or degrade their ability to complete it. The last layer I'll touch on is the Air Marshalls, which could be considered a last line of defense. These are trained police that are integrated into existing flights that are poised to intervene in the event an attempted Hi-jacking occurs. 

    These are just a few of the effective security layers present in our transportation process that have been established because of past events or because they have been proven effective. An idea to improve upon this process might be to establish a method of detection that doesn't require passengers to remove their shoes and metallic objects in order to streamline the process without degrading the quality of security. History is often written in blood, so that means we have a duty to learn from the past to prevent another tragic occurrence and I for one am glad that our right to safely travel is protected from both outside and inside threats.


References:

Inside look: Tsa layers of security. Inside Look: TSA Layers of Security | Transportation Security Administration. (2017, August 1). https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2017/08/01/inside-look-tsa-layers-security.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Hijack. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hijack.

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