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CNN Live Sunday
Is Air Cargo Being Screened Properly?
Aired March 09, 2003 - 17:31 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, CNN ANCHOR: If you've flown anywhere in recent months, you've run into extra security precautions put in place to prevent another 9/11-style terror attack on a passenger plane. But as CNN's Patty Davis reports, air cargo security is another story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Check in for a commercial airline flight, you and your bags are screened. But in the belly of the plane, there's often lots of cargo.
MARCUS FLAGG, INDEPENDENT PILOTS ASSN.: Virtually next to nothing is screened.
DAVIS: Pilot Marcus Flagg says that goes for the UPS cargo planes he flies, as well.
FLAGG: We're very vulnerable right not to terrorists. And the terrorists are watching. They know when we fly.
DAVIS: A recent GAO report found security lacking at air carriers and other companies that handle air cargo. Inadequate background checks for employees handling air cargo and the possibility for tampering with cargo before its loaded on to planes.
(on camera): Cargo pilots like Flagg worry not only about bombs and cargo but intruders as well after a woman scaled an eight-foot fence at the Fargo, North Dakota airport late last year, and tried to board a UPS plane. UPS workers were able to stop here.
(voice-over): To guard against intruders, cargo pilots say they should be allowed to carry guns like pilots of passenger planes, a move that UPS and others are fighting. The transportation security administration says if Congress tells it to arm cargo pilots, it will. As for the cargo carried on cargo jets, the TSA says it's already required them to tighten access to their facilities. It requires screening those who ride in the jump seat and employee background checks. UPS says it reserves the right to open suspicious packages and limits access to its planes.
FLAGG: The Fargo example really pointed to the fact that our security measures, the UPS measures worked. The intruder was apprehended, identified and removed from the situation before even getting near the aircraft.
DAVIS: A Senate bill would set deadlines to further beef up security on cargo carriers and could require screening of more cargo on passenger planes.
Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 March 9, 2003 - 17:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: If you've flown anywhere in recent months, you've run into extra security precautions put in place to prevent another 9/11-style terror attack on a passenger plane. But as CNN's Patty Davis reports, air cargo security is another story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Check in for a commercial airline flight, you and your bags are screened. But in the belly of the plane, there's often lots of cargo.
MARCUS FLAGG, INDEPENDENT PILOTS ASSN.: Virtually next to nothing is screened.
DAVIS: Pilot Marcus Flagg says that goes for the UPS cargo planes he flies, as well.
FLAGG: We're very vulnerable right not to terrorists. And the terrorists are watching. They know when we fly.
DAVIS: A recent GAO report found security lacking at air carriers and other companies that handle air cargo. Inadequate background checks for employees handling air cargo and the possibility for tampering with cargo before its loaded on to planes.
(on camera): Cargo pilots like Flagg worry not only about bombs and cargo but intruders as well after a woman scaled an eight-foot fence at the Fargo, North Dakota airport late last year, and tried to board a UPS plane. UPS workers were able to stop here.
(voice-over): To guard against intruders, cargo pilots say they should be allowed to carry guns like pilots of passenger planes, a move that UPS and others are fighting. The transportation security administration says if Congress tells it to arm cargo pilots, it will. As for the cargo carried on cargo jets, the TSA says it's already required them to tighten access to their facilities. It requires screening those who ride in the jump seat and employee background checks. UPS says it reserves the right to open suspicious packages and limits access to its planes.
FLAGG: The Fargo example really pointed to the fact that our security measures, the UPS measures worked. The intruder was apprehended, identified and removed from the situation before even getting near the aircraft.
DAVIS: A Senate bill would set deadlines to further beef up security on cargo carriers and could require screening of more cargo on passenger planes.
Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
