Chpt 2 – Terrorism

Fundamental strategies for attacking aviation:

Hijackings

Bombings

Airport assaults

Traditional objective for past hijackings was to:“land and negotiate”

Then: Terrorists used hostages to leverage arrangements or demands

Now: Terrorist use airliners as guided missiles

What differences to AVSEC mission from then to now?

None: mission remains the same – to prevent or deter hijackigs or attacks from occurring.

Why examine past attacks?

As we look to the past is becomes apparent that acts to mitigate threats often create the next challenge.

“Airport security measures have simply chased out the amateurs and left the clever and the audacious.” – Malcolm Gladwell on 9-11.

Criminals and terrorists have become more creative, more daring and more deadly as new technologies and strategies, such as baggage screening and air marshals are introduced.

Reducing the number of criminal or terrorist attacks also increases the potential severity of future attacks.

4 Eras of Attacks:

1. 1930-1979

2. 1980-1990

3. 1991-2001

4. Post 9-11

1930-1979:

Hijackings – prior to 1960:

*escape persecution or prosecution

• Hostage taking to extort money

• Cuba or Mexico

• Bombings were rare but usually result of insurance fraud

1960s: Hijackings turned deadly and became standard ops procedure for Middle Eastern terrorist groups

*leverage hostages for release of political prisoners

*call attention to their cause

*more dangerous to terrorists than hostages

10 hijackings/year – most ended with shooting deaths of hijackers .

First recorded hijacking: Feb 21, 1031 Arequipa, Peru

Armed revolutionaries approached Byron Rickards and demanded use of his aircraft.

Rickards refused for several days.

Revolutionaries informed Rickards their uprising had been successful and he was free to go providing he flew one of their members to Lima, Peru.

Fundamental precept in aviation security = criminals and terrorists will assess new technologies and dtermine if those technologies can improve their chances for success.

Osama bin Laden – use of agricultural aircraft to deliver chemical or biological weaons.

Recently terrorist assess use of helicopters to commit terrorist acts or assist in surveillance, access to lower levels of NAS.

First airline bombing: 1933

United Airlines B-247 CLE-ORDNitroglycerin-based explosive detonated

by a timing device – killed all 7 on board.

*no one prosecuted for the attack…. Why?

No pax or baggage screening reqs.

Regs addressing these AVSEC concerns would not begin until 1971 – 40 years later.

1949 – insurance fraud on the rise

flight crew worked together with hijackers

Kiosks in airports for pax to purchase insurance on themselves before departure.

Kiosks used for insurance fraud…. NTSB not fully formed and investigations could not determine if crash was accident or intentional.

1955 aircraft-related bombings significant

United airlines Flight#629:

Daisie King – son placed dynamite inside his mother’s luggage in an attempt to claim more than #37,000 in life insurance money.

Julian Frank – blew up his flight carrying dynamite in his carry-on in an attempt to will money to his relatives.

Pax Dupe scenarios

Pax unknowningly brings explosives onto an airplane…. Leads to “first level” pax profiling:

1. Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry an item on this flight?

2. Have any of the items you are traveling with been out of your immediate control since the time you packed them?

1947-1953: 23 hijackings worldwide

*Europeans seeking various forms of political asylum covered most attacks

*Pilots provided firearms training…. *Pilots were considered mail carriers

(mail carriers were armed back then) as they operated aircraft transporting mail.

July 6, 1954 – 15 year old stormed the cockpit of AA DC-6. Captain was packin and shot and killed the perpetrator.

1960-1980Fidel Castro

>240 hijackings/attempted hijackings related to Cuba

Anti-hijacking Act of 1974 Mandated pax and carry-on baggage screening

>60 hijacks/attempted hijacks after Anti-Hijacking Act was implemented

First U.S. Hijacker: Antuilo Ramierez Ortiz

Used a gun to force the flight crew of a National Airlines’ jet to divert ot Cuba

Pres. JFK implemented the first Air Marshall program

Organized originally under the U.S. Marshall Service; reorganized in 1985 under the FAA.

Death penalty/ 20 years in prison for hijacking an aircraft.

1971 – FAR Part 107 implemented: airports responsible for protecting airfield

1968-1973 : peak of hijackings and antihijacking measures.

@364 total hijackings worldwide (U.S. DOT)

Three reasons for hijackings:Political asylum

Release of prisoners

Financial gainMeasures taken to deter future hijackings:

FAA created task force to study methods

Findings resulted in First Hijacker Profile

Metal detectors were implemented

First Hijacker Profile: set of behaviors that hijackers would generally folow after hijacking an aircraft, specifically to allow the aircraft to land and let negotiations begin.

What problems did the “jet age” bring to AVSEC?

1970 marked epic proprotion of hijackings, 32 involving Cuba in 1969 alone

Faster aircraft

More passengers

More fuel

Hijackers could now fly farther and faster and had more hostages on board.

1970: 3 atempted hijackings occurred; similar motivation and tactics as 9-11

#1 EA Flt. 1320 EWR – BOS

Pax John DiVivo entered cockpit with a gun and ordered the crew to crash the plane.

Crew fought back – FO Hartley disarmed DiVivo and shot him but was mortally wounded. Capt. Wilbur injured but landed the plane safely.

#21972: 3 criminals (one an escaped convict) took over a Southern Airways DC-9 demanding $10 mil.

Directed plane back and forth over the country and threatened to crash into a nuclear facility in Tennessee

31 pax held for over 29 hours

FO shot and wounded before ordeal ended

#31974: attempt to crash a plane into the white house.

Samuel Byck – stole a pistol, shot and killed an airport police officer at BWI, boarded a DAL DC-9 and ordered the pilots to take off and fly low towards Washington D.C.

Intention was to crash into the white house in attempt to assassinate Pres. Nixon.

Pilots refused to take off – Byck shot both pilots, killing the FO and ordered a pax to help the Captain fly te plane.

FBI agent fired through a window in the aircraft’s door killing Byck.

Characteristics of hijackings:Only 1 or 2 hijackers who used guns, grenades, bombs, and sometimes only the threat of a bomb in order to take over the flight.

Response to hijackings was straightforward – disable the aircraft: shoot out tires

Response is to keep the aircraft on the groundCrisis is less ephemeral and risky

Hijacked aircraft can land outside a country’s jurisdiction

Creates hazards to air navigation

Weapon of mass destruction

“Airborne hijacked aircraft is essentially a roving crime scene in progress with huge dynamic and random elements at play.”

Middle East and AsiaMuch fewer bombings in comparison to USA, but resulted in greater loss of life and overall destruction

Focus on extorting release of prisoners or political message

Ever wonder why Israel is the world’s leader and example in AVSEC?

First hijacking in Middle East was on Israeli Airline El Al in 1968

3 gunmen (from Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine, PLFP) hijacked Flt. 426 FCO-TLV

Forced landing in Algiers

Hijackers demanded release of certain Arab prisoners

News crew on hand when plane landed, which demonstrated the power of hijacking as a tool to attract worldwide attention

No one killed, no Arab prisioners released

Result – Israel implemented the strictest security measures on El Al and adopted a retalitation policy toward those groups who seek to harm Israeli citizens

6 months after El Al flt 426 hijacking, 2 terrorist with automatic weapons and hand grenades boarded a flight.

Substantial damage to aircraft

1 person killed

El Al implemented an police escort on taxi

Retalitation policy = Israeli commandoes raided the airport in Beirut, Lebanon and destroyd a dozen Lebanese registered aircraft

There has never been another successful hijacking of an El Al airliner

Attacks on Middle East on commercial aviation didn’t necessarily take place in the Middle East

Several attacks in Europe on Mid. East. Airliners

Attacks throughout Europe and Asia, majority in Soviet Union.

Nowhere near the rate of hijackings during this time period as was taking place in the United States.

PFLP strikes again:1970: Palestinian hijackers depart from 3 separate airports with intent to hijack 3 aircraft enroute from Europe to United States

Intent was to land the aircraft at remote airfield and hold pax hostage in attempt to negotiate release of other PFLP members.

El Al #219 AMS-JFK on B707, one of the hijackers, Khaled -a woman, had previous experience hijacking and had plastic surgery to change her appearance

4 suspicious passengers identified by crew//…. Capt. Allowed 2 on board, including Khaled, but denied the other 2

20 min into flight hijacking was initiated using pistols and hand grenades

Threats to crew to open the cockpit door

Capt. Used “negative G pushover” tactic = in chaos security personnel and pax overwhelmed the hijackers.

Airports:Third major form of attack against global aviation

Provide shelter, services, various levels of security to aircraft while on the ground

Pax and employees make transition from land transport to flight and hold hundreds and thousands of people at a time

Transit point for more than 30,000 flights a day in the U.S.

Disruption or shut down of airport can resulte in disruptions throughout NAS

Public faciliteis where screening is not required for entry into a u.S. airport – increasing the possibiity for anyone to enter the facility with guns, grenades, or other explosive devices

Airports are national assets – essential to AVSEC function

PFLP – Strikes yet again!

Lod Int’l airport – TLV:1972: 3 terrorists of Japanese Red Army (recruited by PFLP) opened fire in baggage claim killing 26 people and injuring dozens more

1973: shot their way through FCO airport destroying an aircraft – 30 people died

Unabomber: Ted Kaczynski – mail parcel containing bomb exploded in the Cargo hold of AA #444 ORD-IAD

First time bomb was used as Cargo

Air Cargo Security remains the focus of much attention and rule-making…. Though most bombs are put on board as carry-on or checked luggage

1971: Cooper parachuted out of an airplance he hijacked and held for ransom…. 19 more parachute hijackings followed

Boeing installed the “Cooper Vane” – which prevents the rear air stairs from lowering in flight

This only motivated hijackers to devlop new tactics.

Narco-Terrorism:Narcotics drug cartels targeted aircraft in Columbia

Escobar orchestrated bombing campaign to eliminate informats, police and politicians

Airline employees – with access to cargo and baggage holds were frequently paid to smuggle drugs on board

Ease of drugs smuggled on board alerted the fact that bombs could also be smuggled on board with as much ease.

1980-1990: Aviation Policies Hijackings turned more deadly, and several more attacks on airports

Flammable liquids became a popular attack method as terrorists would distribute around the plane and threaten to light it

Air Marshal program reorganized under the FAA in 1985….. About the same time hijackings ended in the United States.

Terrorists dressed up as security guards

Bombs were left in public restrooms to kill random people

Anne Marie Murphy:TLV on El Al – fiance was a Syrian Intel agent who lined her suitcase with explosives

Flt. 847:TWA attack by Shiite Muslim terrorists ATH-FCO

Significant for lessons provided for years to come

Mass media brought real-time to event

Thousands of miles of airspace, several governments, operations at 3 major airports affected, death of U.S. serviceman, rise to Hezbollah, and a flight attendant saved the day!

Lessons learned:Keep aircraft on the ground

Crew training in emergency safety and security ops

Crew training in crisis management/security incident

Crews are effectively hostages – cannot be counted on to make decisions

Crew decides whether SOP are followed or safer to deviate