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CNN Live Saturday
Airlines Will Need to Consider Security Measures Against Missiles
Aired August 16, 2003 - 12:40 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: No bail yet for the only U.S. citizen charged in the missile smuggling plot in the northeast.
Bail was set yesterday at $10 million in federal court at Newark, New Jersey. Seventy-six-year-old man Yehuda Abraham will be released if he can post bail.
Abraham is a New York diamond dealer. Federal prosecutors wanted him to remain in custody.
The missiles in question possibly falling into the hands of terrorists, a dangerous notion to say the very least. Well, these kinds of missiles are portable and can be fired by one person.
Joining us from our Washington bureau is a man who's familiar with this kind of threat. Peter Goelz is the former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Good to see you.
PETER GOELZ, FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: Good morning.
WHITFIELD: Well, this sting operation has spawned the thought of whether something like this could certainly help bring down a commercial airline in this country. Is there any preparation that any commercial airlines have to avert such a strike?
GOELZ: Well, the federal government has already been sending teams out to survey both domestic and international airports to see whether there are vulnerable points geographically around the airports.
But this is a real threat. It's estimated that there are tens of thousands of these shoulder held or man pad missiles in the hands of either terrorists or militia groups around the world. And clearly, the sting operation has shown that in the world of arms dealers, money talks and they're willing to sell it to anyone for any reason.
WHITFIELD: So what if anything can be said to those that travel on these commercial airlines? Now thinking about yet this other possible threat that is being explored by federal investigators.
GOELZ: Well, it's a serious threat. Air travel remains the safest form of travel. But it really opens the debate on where do you spend your counter terrorism money? It's estimated that there are 6,800, 7,000 commercial aircraft in the United States. It could cost $8-10 billion to put counter missile technology on the aircraft even if we had it today. And it would take five, seven years to install it on all the aircraft.
So it really opens the question of, where's the wisest place to put counter terrorism money?
WHITFIELD: If it would be too expensive to have the counter missile technology, then perhaps does it mean being able to issue the kind of funding to help retrain some of these pilots for more defensive type of flying?
GOELZ: Boy, that's an awful difficult task to ask a pilot to do.
I mean, first of all, the firing of these missiles can take place, you know, on approach or on takeoff. That's where they're most dangerous. It is over highly populated areas.
Even having a warning system to allow a pilot in command to start to take evasive actions raises all sorts of very difficult questions for the airline industry.
I think the debate has started. The sting operation has really highlighted it. We've now got to have some thoughtful decision- making.
WHITFIELD: Well, it almost sounds like you're striking down any of the possibilities and it would mean an issue of just preventive type of sting operations just like this as being the only real saving grace here.
GOELZ: Well, right now, I mean, they're developing laser technology that may be able to jam these kinds of missiles. The question is, you can't use the flare type technology. Do you really want to have phosphorus ordinance on board commercial aircraft and display them or put them out over populated areas? It's a very challenging question.
I think we've got to work. There's a $60 million research program going on within homeland security to try and develop the new laser technologies. I think we've really got to put together a layered approach that includes counter terrorism actions just like we've seen. Sting operations, as well as looking at the technological answers, as well.
WHITFIELD: Peter Goelz, thanks very much for joining us, former NTSB managing director.
GOELZ: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Missiles>
Aired August 16, 2003 - 12:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: No bail yet for the only U.S. citizen charged in the missile smuggling plot in the northeast.
Bail was set yesterday at $10 million in federal court at Newark, New Jersey. Seventy-six-year-old man Yehuda Abraham will be released if he can post bail.
Abraham is a New York diamond dealer. Federal prosecutors wanted him to remain in custody.
The missiles in question possibly falling into the hands of terrorists, a dangerous notion to say the very least. Well, these kinds of missiles are portable and can be fired by one person.
Joining us from our Washington bureau is a man who's familiar with this kind of threat. Peter Goelz is the former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Good to see you.
PETER GOELZ, FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: Good morning.
WHITFIELD: Well, this sting operation has spawned the thought of whether something like this could certainly help bring down a commercial airline in this country. Is there any preparation that any commercial airlines have to avert such a strike?
GOELZ: Well, the federal government has already been sending teams out to survey both domestic and international airports to see whether there are vulnerable points geographically around the airports.
But this is a real threat. It's estimated that there are tens of thousands of these shoulder held or man pad missiles in the hands of either terrorists or militia groups around the world. And clearly, the sting operation has shown that in the world of arms dealers, money talks and they're willing to sell it to anyone for any reason.
WHITFIELD: So what if anything can be said to those that travel on these commercial airlines? Now thinking about yet this other possible threat that is being explored by federal investigators.
GOELZ: Well, it's a serious threat. Air travel remains the safest form of travel. But it really opens the debate on where do you spend your counter terrorism money? It's estimated that there are 6,800, 7,000 commercial aircraft in the United States. It could cost $8-10 billion to put counter missile technology on the aircraft even if we had it today. And it would take five, seven years to install it on all the aircraft.
So it really opens the question of, where's the wisest place to put counter terrorism money?
WHITFIELD: If it would be too expensive to have the counter missile technology, then perhaps does it mean being able to issue the kind of funding to help retrain some of these pilots for more defensive type of flying?
GOELZ: Boy, that's an awful difficult task to ask a pilot to do.
I mean, first of all, the firing of these missiles can take place, you know, on approach or on takeoff. That's where they're most dangerous. It is over highly populated areas.
Even having a warning system to allow a pilot in command to start to take evasive actions raises all sorts of very difficult questions for the airline industry.
I think the debate has started. The sting operation has really highlighted it. We've now got to have some thoughtful decision- making.
WHITFIELD: Well, it almost sounds like you're striking down any of the possibilities and it would mean an issue of just preventive type of sting operations just like this as being the only real saving grace here.
GOELZ: Well, right now, I mean, they're developing laser technology that may be able to jam these kinds of missiles. The question is, you can't use the flare type technology. Do you really want to have phosphorus ordinance on board commercial aircraft and display them or put them out over populated areas? It's a very challenging question.
I think we've got to work. There's a $60 million research program going on within homeland security to try and develop the new laser technologies. I think we've really got to put together a layered approach that includes counter terrorism actions just like we've seen. Sting operations, as well as looking at the technological answers, as well.
WHITFIELD: Peter Goelz, thanks very much for joining us, former NTSB managing director.
GOELZ: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Missiles>
