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Tests Confirm: Airport Security Isn't Working

Screeners missed up to ¾ of dummy bombs in TSA simulation

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 18, 2007 11:45 AM CDT

(Newser) – You might have hoped interminable lines and indignities of shoe removal might have contributed to safer airplanes, but a study by the Transportation Security Administration shows screeners missing fake bombs at an alarming rate. USA Today obtained a copy of the classified report, whose rate of failure stunned officials: at LAX, about 75% of the dummy explosives got through security.

The TSA ran tests at LAX, O'Hare and San Francisco, in which they hid explosive materials in cosmetics kits, briefcases, and portable CD players. They got through often with no trouble at all. Privatized security in San Francisco fared somewhat better, largely because screeners are checked constantly. Still, according to a Homeland Security official, "That's a huge cause for concern."

Passengers remove their coats at a security checkpoint at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in this 2004 file photo. Airport security officers around the nation have been alerted by federal officials... (Associated Press)

Tonya Garman, of Spokane, Wash., center, watches Transportation Security Administration agents search her carry-on baggage as she goes through security to board a flight home at George Bush Intercontinental... (Associated Press)

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff arrives at Washington's Reagan National Airport, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007, for a news conference to announce new international flight screening procedures. ... (Associated Press)

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Tests Confirm: Airport Security Isn't Working

Screeners missed up to ¾ of dummy bombs in TSA simulation

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