Counter Terror Gazette

9/11 + 10: a reflection

26 Aug 2011

In many respects it seems like yesterday. In the context of aviation history, however, a decade is a long time. Earlier in 2011 we marked the 80^th anniversary of the very first hijacking; the heyday of the Cuban hijack epidemic was half a century ago; and, the famous Ann-Marie Murphy case took place a quarter of a century ago. The reason that the terrorist attacks of 11^th September 2001 seem so recent is, in part, because the threat of Islamic fundamentalism in 2011 is as prevalent now as it was then. Add to that the media spectacle of the attacks, where we have images incessantly shown of planes flying into the Twin Towers – no doubt one of the objectives of al Qaeda – providing a graphic portrayal of a terrorist attack in progress, the like of which we have never had with any other attack against aviation before or since, small wonder that the events of that day are indelibly etched in our minds.

We all remember where we were when the news broke of the attacks. I was in my London office when Miranda (guest booker) from Sky News telephoned to invite me into their TV studios to discuss the lead story in Britain’s Daily Mirror on 11^th September 2001 which, 13 years after the event, was about the Lockerbie bombing. There was obviously little newsworthy material that morning.  I declined the studio invite. Minutes later, the BBC called and asked me to comment on the fact that a plane had flown into the World Trade Centre in New York; I declined to comment again and suggested that they find a pilot or air traffic controller who could provide expert comment on the nature of flight. Intrigued, however, I logged on to CNN’s website…and, as I did so, the phone rang a third time. It was Miranda again. Please would I come in as, now that she was focussing on 2001 rather than 1988, “it looks as if the plane that hit the World Trade Centre had been hijacked”; I readily agreed to come in and, as we were making transportation arrangements, the second flight hit the second tower…

Over the course of a few hours on that fateful morning, the aviation security industry moved into a new era. Despite the fact that it is thought that the hijackers of an Air France Airbus in 1994 had planned on ending their seizure by flying the jet into the city of Paris, and the speculation that, in 1994, Jamal Lya had been a suicidal terrorist on board an Alas Chiricanas flight blown up over Panama, the events of 11^th September 2001 clearly demonstrated a new modus operandi had become a reality. That day it was gangs of suicidal pilots; three months later, a lone individual with explosive shoes; in 2004, two suicidal women carrying out simultaneous attacks with bombs concealed beneath their clothing; in 2006, a plot for groups of men and women to use liquid explosives; in 2009, a device concealed in underwear; and now, in 2011, we hear of a potential plot for suicide bombers to be despatched with devices surgically implanted into their bodies.

Rules that we had in place back in 2001 seem to have lost their value. Take baggage reconciliation for example. The concept of off-loading a bag from an aircraft if the accompanying passenger does not board is actually indicative of the industry’s recognition of the limitations of screening technology; why otherwise should it be off-loaded if it has been screened? The answer was always that, screening was not foolproof but that no passenger would knowingly check in a bomb and blow themselves up. Really?

As always, we saw some measures hastily deployed in the days and months that followed the attacks. Restrictions on ‘sharps’, removal of metal cutlery from meal trays and airside restaurants, bans of flight deck visits by passengers, huge investment into enhanced cockpit doors  and the recommencement of sky marshal programmes. In the United States, we also had the Federal Flight Deck Officer programme, which allowed pilots to carry firearms in order to respond to an attack. There has been a huge increase in investment into screening technologies, a more far reaching global audit process spearheaded by ICAO and its regional offshoots and financial assistance proffered to States which struggle to meet the exacting demands of the 21^st Century’s aviation security system.

An anniversary provides an opportunity for those most closely impacted by a tragedy to honour the lives of their nearest and dearest – family members, friends, work colleagues, neighbours and, in America’s case, fellow citizens – as well as being a focal point for reflection on the events of the incident itself and the starting point of the measuring stick against which progress subsequently achieved can be assessed.

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