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CNN Live Today

How Safe are the Skies?

Aired September 10, 2003 - 11:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The passenger in the crate incident may have humorous overtones, but the incident sends a very serious message about the state of air security two years after 9/11.
Bill McGann is an aviation security analyst, and he joins us from Boston this morning to talk about this.

Good morning, Bill.

BILL MCGANN, AVIATION SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to be here this morning.

KAGAN: I'm assuming you didn't show up in a crate.

MCGANN: No, he sounds like a rather unfortunate individual actually.

KAGAN: What do you make of this, though? Given how you know how air cargo works in the country, are you surprised how easy it was for this man to pull off?

MCGANN: Well, I think that the Department of Homeland Security has recognized that there is a vulnerability in cargo security. I mean, in fact, it's been one of the areas of recent widespread debate among the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security, in terms of trying to assess the vulnerability of the various threats, trying to establish the requirements for technology to meet the threats, and also to try to get some funded programs to develop technology necessary.

And having said that, that isn't to say that nothing has been done. Our nation's airports have gone a long way in the last two years to establish effective security.

KAGAN: Let me step in here. Bottom line, how much safer are airports generally today than they were two years ago?

MCGANN: Significantly safer, Daryn. I mean, in the last two years, the focus has been on deployment of technology for explosives and weapons detection in peoples carry-on bags and checked baggage. I'll give you one example, is that Ge Eintrack (ph) alone last year deployed 2,700 trace explosive detection systems in U.S. airports for this purpose.

And currently, we're working closely with the TSA to roll out new technology for entry-scan products, which is a walk-through explosive detection system for screening people. So a lot has been done, a lot is being done, and there is obviously yet a lot to do.

KAGAN: Let's talk more about this new technology, especially the ones that are going to impact passengers as they try to make their way through airports. What's this one that screens people? How does it work?

MCGANN: Well, basically, it operates as a walk-through system, where a person enters the portal, as we call it, stands there for a few seconds, and we collect a sample of air from around their body to see if they have been in the presence or contact of explosives. It's a noninvasive, nonintrusive system that we've been developing cooperatively with the TSA for actually the last four years, and it's just coming out of testings, and getting ready for pilot deployment in this coming year.

KAGAN: And where will we see it? Which airports?

MCGANN: Well, we haven't got that quite figured out yet. We're working, as I said, very closely with the TSA to try to figure out which airports are going to see it first. We did do some pilot deployments earlier in a small airport, actually in Knoxville, Tennessee, called McGee Tyson (ph), where we did a several month trial there of the system.

KAGAN: Let's talk about the color code system that's going to go into effect next year, I believe, where just simply -- where on one hand I think you will be given a color that rates you as a security risk? Are you familiar with that?

MCGANN: Right. Yes, it's the recent color coding of passengers as they come through a checkpoint. I think that this is a very important step for improving the overall level of security in our nation. What it's going to do is allow us to move away from people- intensive security solutions, more toward technology-intensive security solutions.

I mean, again, the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security is working very closely with technology development companies, such as Ge Eintrack and others to establish and implement the best available technology today, and then produce programs to basically have continual improvement of those technology platforms. So what that does is allow you to focus the best technology on the highest risk category of passengers. And again, that is not to say people who get a green code still get some level of security, but that level of security is appropriate to the classification.

KAGAN: Well, it will be a -- it sounds like a continuing balance. We want to stay safe, we want to have things convenient, and people want to protect their privacy as well. That challenge will go on.

Bill McGann, thanks for joining us from Boston. Appreciate it.

MCGANN: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 10, 2003 - 11:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The passenger in the crate incident may have humorous overtones, but the incident sends a very serious message about the state of air security two years after 9/11.
Bill McGann is an aviation security analyst, and he joins us from Boston this morning to talk about this.

Good morning, Bill.

BILL MCGANN, AVIATION SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to be here this morning.

KAGAN: I'm assuming you didn't show up in a crate.

MCGANN: No, he sounds like a rather unfortunate individual actually.

KAGAN: What do you make of this, though? Given how you know how air cargo works in the country, are you surprised how easy it was for this man to pull off?

MCGANN: Well, I think that the Department of Homeland Security has recognized that there is a vulnerability in cargo security. I mean, in fact, it's been one of the areas of recent widespread debate among the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security, in terms of trying to assess the vulnerability of the various threats, trying to establish the requirements for technology to meet the threats, and also to try to get some funded programs to develop technology necessary.

And having said that, that isn't to say that nothing has been done. Our nation's airports have gone a long way in the last two years to establish effective security.

KAGAN: Let me step in here. Bottom line, how much safer are airports generally today than they were two years ago?

MCGANN: Significantly safer, Daryn. I mean, in the last two years, the focus has been on deployment of technology for explosives and weapons detection in peoples carry-on bags and checked baggage. I'll give you one example, is that Ge Eintrack (ph) alone last year deployed 2,700 trace explosive detection systems in U.S. airports for this purpose.

And currently, we're working closely with the TSA to roll out new technology for entry-scan products, which is a walk-through explosive detection system for screening people. So a lot has been done, a lot is being done, and there is obviously yet a lot to do.

KAGAN: Let's talk more about this new technology, especially the ones that are going to impact passengers as they try to make their way through airports. What's this one that screens people? How does it work?

MCGANN: Well, basically, it operates as a walk-through system, where a person enters the portal, as we call it, stands there for a few seconds, and we collect a sample of air from around their body to see if they have been in the presence or contact of explosives. It's a noninvasive, nonintrusive system that we've been developing cooperatively with the TSA for actually the last four years, and it's just coming out of testings, and getting ready for pilot deployment in this coming year.

KAGAN: And where will we see it? Which airports?

MCGANN: Well, we haven't got that quite figured out yet. We're working, as I said, very closely with the TSA to try to figure out which airports are going to see it first. We did do some pilot deployments earlier in a small airport, actually in Knoxville, Tennessee, called McGee Tyson (ph), where we did a several month trial there of the system.

KAGAN: Let's talk about the color code system that's going to go into effect next year, I believe, where just simply -- where on one hand I think you will be given a color that rates you as a security risk? Are you familiar with that?

MCGANN: Right. Yes, it's the recent color coding of passengers as they come through a checkpoint. I think that this is a very important step for improving the overall level of security in our nation. What it's going to do is allow us to move away from people- intensive security solutions, more toward technology-intensive security solutions.

I mean, again, the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security is working very closely with technology development companies, such as Ge Eintrack and others to establish and implement the best available technology today, and then produce programs to basically have continual improvement of those technology platforms. So what that does is allow you to focus the best technology on the highest risk category of passengers. And again, that is not to say people who get a green code still get some level of security, but that level of security is appropriate to the classification.

KAGAN: Well, it will be a -- it sounds like a continuing balance. We want to stay safe, we want to have things convenient, and people want to protect their privacy as well. That challenge will go on.

Bill McGann, thanks for joining us from Boston. Appreciate it.

MCGANN: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com