In his recent budget proposal, President Trump calls for cutting funding for 31 explosive-detection dogs, and their handlers, and also to cut TSA staff who monitor access to certain secure areas at the airport. Understanding the potential consequences of these changes is first about understanding what these programs are supposed to do. The Visible Intermodal… Continue Reading
So how does a guy who rides a board and hangs out with people that say “dude” a lot, have any wisdom for the high-powered corporate gods of Wall Street or the political wizards of Washington? Laird Hamilton in his book, Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, And, of Course, Surfing, lays out several life lessons… Continue Reading
Do you think it was a good thing that Captain Chesley Sullenberger had a flight plan on that day he landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River? Obviously, the flight plan did not call for an encounter with a flock of geese, nor a water landing but the fact that the good… Continue Reading
Ever had a tough time making a decision? Of course, we all have. Wouldn’t it just be easier to be Mr. Spock and make every decision based on logic? Unfortunately, that doesn’t work either. Since I am a person that often cannot decide what to eat for dinner let alone make major life decisions, I… Continue Reading
On July 17 of this year, police responded to a drone with fireworks attached to it discovered on top of a building in downtown Los Angeles. Further details have not been released about the incident, but it does represent just one of the many threats drone operations can represent to airports, infrastructure and people. In… Continue Reading
The recent report of an American Airlines employee sabotaging a flight in order to obtain more overtime represents the biggest threat to commercial aviation. Not only do you have an employee with access to an airport, but also to an airliner, with a legitimate reason to be crawling around the innards of the plane, and… Continue Reading
As we approach the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, many of us forget that there is an entire generation out there to which 9/11 is merely a historical event, much like Pearl Harbor was to our generation of boomers and genx’rs. My daughter, Austin, who is a high school junior, composed… Continue Reading
Article Originally Published in the State Aviation Journal May, 2019 Why have gun seizures at US airports gone up by 357% over the past ten years? In 2008, TSA 926 seized guns at screening checkpoints. Last year they seized 4,239 and the rate continues to increase. If you haven’t heard, you can’t carry a gun in… Continue Reading
The Toronto airport again has played a role in aviation security. It was 134years ago, June 23, 1985, when the deadliest airline bombing in history took down Air India Flight 182. The flight had departed from Vancouver, made a stopover in Canada en route to London, but all 329 on board were killed by a… Continue Reading
The U.S. Administration’s budget request for TSA Fiscal Year 2020 continues to be debated. At first glance, I do not like that agencies like the US Coast Guard and cybersecurity defense are getting less funding and focus. I believe cyber is the largest vulnerability to our country and in reality, it’s not a matter of when we go to… Continue Reading