Airport Security

In the world of Airport Operations, we tend to spend a great deal of time focused on airfield and airside issues. This is as it should be, since we are to be the Subject Matter Experts on such matters, capable of providing sound guidance and information to those relying upon us for both maintaining safety as well as decision-making. However, most of us are also involved in the security aspects at our respective airports, whether it is in formalized roles as Airport Security Coordinators or merely remaining vigilant and coordinating with local Law Enforcement.

Since that is the case, it might be extremely beneficial to spend a few minutes considering the concept of Terminal Security. We usually focus on the Secure Areas and keeping them sterile, but what about the public side? Most of our time is spent on the possibility of explosive devices – unattended or suspicious bags and vehicles located near the terminal. While these are the tried and true methods generally used by terrorists around the world, there is another, even harder to detect, threat that we should be aware of and seriously consider: an Active Shooter.

Consider the following:

• On May 22, 2002, a man dining in a Denny’s restaurant across from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) felt that a Southwest employee had been ridiculing his attire, specifically a turban. He followed her back into the Ticket Lobby, and shot her once in the stomach with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun. An airport employee (!) wrestled the weapon from him and the man was placed under arrest. The Southwest employee later recovered from her wounds

• On July 4, 2002 a man opened fire in the ticket lobby area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), near the El Al counter, killing two and wounding three others before being shot dead.

• On March 2, 2011 a gunman opened fire on a bus containing US Air Force service members at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, killing two and wounding two more. After the incident, the gunman fled into the terminal of the airport where he was arrested by authorities.

• In the hit video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a pivotal scene is where a group of Russian terrorists conduct a massacre at a fictional Moscow airport, with the intent to begin a “false flag” operation against the United States. The player participates in the incident, and graphic examples of violence against unarmed civilians and security personnel ensue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKqD3jHflOU)

• Just last week, a man armed with an AK-47 variant walked into an IHOP restaurant in Carson City, NV and opened fire. The assailant killed four, wounded seven, and then took his own life.

Terminal Security

We generally think of security in terms of checkpoints and fencing--all attempts to prevent the introduction of hazardous or lethal objects on board an aircraft. While the events of the September 11^th terrorist attacks certainly justify such an approach, we should also give brief thought to the concept of preventing a mass-casualty incident at terminal facilities.

One particular cause for concern is the possibility of either single or multiple armed persons entering the public side of an airport terminal in order to cause casualties. The term “Active Shooter” has been developed by Law Enforcement agencies to define this type of incident. The term was developed after studying the Columbine High School shootings in the mid 1990s, and those fitting the term pose a difficult, and lethal, threat to large gatherings of people.

Methodology

The Active Shooter represents a paradigm shift in the intent and methodology of hostile acts against civilians; in the mid-1970s and 1980s, terrorists would take hostages in order to gain a form of public leverage in order to accomplish a goal, be it the release of imprisoned colleagues or gain notoriety for their cause. As such, Law Enforcement adapted over time to face such a threat, resulting in the Hostage Rescue Teams we see today. A crucial element of hostage incidents is that of time; where the aggressor usually holes up in a place and waits for their demands to be made. This gives the responding agencies time to either meet the demands or plan for a less diplomatic way to end the situation.

With the Active Shooter, the element of time disappears. According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, an Active Shooter is “…an armed person who has used deadly physical force on other persons and continues to do so while having unrestricted access to additional victims.” In short, the person is heavily armed, walks in, and continues killing others until they are killed or disabled themselves. There is no time to gather negotiators, argue over demands, or deploy specialized teams. As such, it is imperative that police immediately pursue and engage such a threat as soon as possible.

This methodology has been conducted by those that are criminally insane, such as Jared Loughner, the mentally-disturbed man charged with the Tucson AZ shooting in which six were killed and fourteen wounded, as well as the gunman in the IHOP situation mentioned earlier. However, this method may well prove to be especially attractive to those with terrorist ties; again, while most of our focus is upon foiling rather complicated attempts to turn an aircraft into a flying Weapon of Mass Destruction, the simple, low-technology approach of so-called “Lone Wolf” attacks may not receive the same attention. These methods have seen some growth in popularity among terrorist groups overseas due to their lack of necessary planning, simple equipment needs, and disturbingly effective results; one thinks of the Fort Hood shooting, in which a single man with two handguns killed 13 and wounded 30 more.

Prevention

Naturally, the purpose of an airport terminal is to provide efficient and pleasurable service to passengers seeking to board an aircraft; as such, it cannot become an armed camp in order to prevent an attack. Short of installing metal detectors at all entrances, there are few if any scientific methods of preventing such an attack before it begins. With that being said, there are some skills that Operators can develop and teach that may help with detection:

• A person wearing heavy clothing, such as a coat, in warmer weather is usually a sure sign of something concealed, be it a weapon or explosive device.
• Suspicious behavior may be noted prior to the beginning of the assault, such as pacing back and forth, profuse sweating, fidgeting, and talking to themselves.
• If a person is concealing a weapon in their clothing, there are certain visual cues and behaviors that can be noted by the trained eye; as they approach a crowd of people, they tend to turn the side with the weapon away from the crowd, lest someone bump into them and note that they are concealing a large metal object. If it is not secured in a holster, they will generally place their hand on it to keep it from shifting as they move, or they may constantly reach to the area to reposition the weapon. If they run, they may also keep their hand on the weapon to keep it from falling out or shifting in their clothing.

Unfortunately, while these methods may help detect a hostile act before it begins, it is more likely that the first real indication of an incident will be the sound of shots fired. As such, it is crucial that LEOs are trained to respond quickly to such an incident; in most Active Shooter cases, the assault did not stop until the assailant was disabled or they ran out of ammunition. While such an incident is not required by the FAA to be a part of our AEP (or ASP, for that matter), it would be an excellent idea to bring up the concept of response methods with the Lieutenant or Sergeant that oversees the LEO force at your airport. Remember: none of the airports, or restaurants, or schools, mentioned here ever considered that it could happen at their location either.

While the subject of this article is not a pleasant one (in fact the concept can be downright disturbing) I certainly hope that the possibility of these incidents has stimulated thought within our fairly small community. The few hours’ consideration of such a threat, and contingency plans to deal with it, may well save a number of lives in the future, though one hopes it remains a conjectural exercise.

-Brandon Guillot