Car Rams Into Detroit Metro Check-In Counter

On Friday, a driver rammed his car the check-in area at Detorit Metro Airport.

The Detroit Free Press:  Car crashes through Detroit Metro Airport's McNamara Terminal

Six people thankfully only had minor injuries.

This certainly showed one heckuva security hole at Detroit Metro, that the driver drove right through. 

The driver was arrested while ranting after the event.

Interestingly enough, even as the New York Post showed the driver getting hauled off into custody, he has still not been identified over 72 hours later.  There has been no news or updates of any charges or whether the driver was drunk, had a mental episode or this was something else.

Kinda strange, that.

Just A Passenger Ahead Of His Time On Security Screening Technique

You know how some wags suggested that TSA would soon require everyone to disrobe before getting on an aircraft?

Sumdood decided to put this security screening method to the test before it was bureaucratically approved.

The Detroit News: Naked man tries to get past security at Detroit Metro Airport

In short, TSA is not ready to adopt naked passenger security screening at this time.

Now, Stop Doing That!

Click On Detroit: TSA finds 2 firearms in carry-on luggage at Detroit Metro Airport

Two firearms were found in separate instances Thursday morning by the Transportation Security Administration at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The first was found about 5 a.m. in the carry-on luggage of a 41-year-old woman flying to Fort Lauderdale. She was carrying a loaded 9 mm Glock. TSA immediately notified local law enforcement, who arrested the passenger on a local charge.

The second firearm was found in the carry-on bag of a 56-year-old man flying to Dallas. He was carrying a loaded .38 caliber revolver.

Four firearms have been found in carry-on luggage at DTW this year. There were 32 firearms detected at DTW in 2014.

Both people likely had no evil intent, but they're both likely facing some serious charges for stupidly forgetting to take their firearms out of their carry-ons, or being dumb enough to somehow think you can fly with a firearm in your carry-on luggage. You really can't.

The stupid tax on these people is going to be high.

Two Idiots Cause Escorts For Airplanes In The Past Two Weeks

Two bomb threats caused two passenger jets to receive fighter escorts recently.

The first on July 25, 2014, a flight from Toronto to Panama received an Ohio Air National Guard escort of a pair of F-16s back to Toronto's Pearson International Airport after a bomb threat by Ali Shahi, a 25-year-old Canadian citizen who threatened to "Blow up Canada" (note the beauty shot of the F-16s in the accompanying article).

Not the sharpest tool in the shed by any means, or a nice dry run attempt to see what the response would be.

Then on August 5, a Qatar Airlines flight was escorted to Manchester Airport by an RAF Typhoon after another bomb threat (Close escort pics and video at the link).

The person who committed the act is unnamed, but police in the UK don't consider him much of a real threat, as reported in The Guardian:

on a sliding scale, we think we may be looking at an idiot rather than an international terrorist” in relation to the arrested man, 47, from north west England. Nothing suspicious was found on the flight when it was searched at Manchester airport, police confirmed.

Idiocy, it appears, abounds in the friendly skies.

TSA's Airport Security Theater - Now Keeping The Audience Riveted

So some traveler leaves the secured area at Detroit Metro, apparently forgot something in the secured area and, instead of going through security decided to push his way back past the dreaded "Do Not Cross" red barriers.

Much insanity then ensues. They didn't just stop people from coming into the secured area at that point, they stopped everyone from leaving it.

The Detroit Free Press: Metro Airport lockdown lifts after 2½ hours; traveler arrested after forcing past security

“They lowered the gates where no one could go into the terminal,” Geiger said. “It looks like they’re not letting any flights board or leave.”

Geiger said he saw multiple TSA agents searching the perimeter.

. . .

Mary Coleman had already been waiting for more than a half-hour for her nephew to get off his flight from New Orleans.

"He's texting me and saying the concourse is completely shut down in between the gates and the baggage area,” Coleman said earlier in the lockdown. “He said they aren't being told what's going on."

Scott Warheit said he was sitting in a car outside of the airport waiting for his parents to exit the building.

“They are in a Delta terminal, caged in and unable to leave or get to baggage claim,” Warheit said. “I’m parked outside baggage claim. There’s lots of traffic.”

So the solution to someone breaking back into the secured area is to lock down the whole airport and stop people from leaving the secured area.

Anyone else think that leaves a whole bunch of potential victims locked in with a potential terrorist had this been a real incident? How does it enhance safety to leave people locked in the secure area rather than processing them out quickly and in an organized manner?

Remember this was due solely to

“A passenger, who was already on the secured side of the screened checkpoint, exited through the line and made the decision to turn back around and go through the secured side without being screened again,” he said.

From the description he was observed the entire time he left and then reentered the area, which wouldn't leave him much of an opportunity to cause a problem. If he had in fact been bent on mayhem, then having an audience locked in with him for his performance would have been a plus, and not in a good way.

It's not just inconvenient security theater, its downright dangerous and inconvenient security theater.

Brussels Sprouts A Gigantic Hole In Airport Security

European Airport Security at its finest - as gang masked and armed men cut a hole in a security fence, drive two vehicles onto the tarmac and proceed to enter the cargo hold of a plane and make a clean getaway with $50 million in diamonds.

Imagine what would have happened if they had had terrorist rather than criminal financial motivations.

Apparently that European sophistication doesn't quite extend to securing the airfield or having a rapid and effective reaction plan in place for an incursion.

Detroit Free Press: Swiss airline targeted in "gigantic" diamond heist

Heading to an undisclosed location

Blogging will be light.

I can report that I have cleared security with my junk untouched. Both kids similarly got a walk.

However, the female TSA checker did get to second base with Natasha due to her magnetic personality.

Security was rather quick, professional and courteous, and they seem to be paying more attention and no problems encountered so far.

First real vacation with the kids in a couple of years and they're excited about the destination.

At least the TSA can stop snakes from getting on a mother fricken plane

It turns out the TSA body scanner can detect certain wiggly hidden objects:

Findlaw: TSA: Man hid 7 snakes, 3 tortoises in his pants

TSA spokesman Jonathon Allen says the man was stopped after passing through a body scanner at Miami International Airport last Thursday. Security officials spotted the nylon bags filled with seven snakes and three tortoises stuffed inside the man's pants.

The plane was going from Miami to Brazil. Who the heck transports exotic snakles and tortoises from the US to Brazil? Isn't such exotic smuggling typically done the other way around?

Sorry, but you couldn't pay me enough money to put one snake down my pants, forget about 7 of em.

Of course, properly done, this could have been a rather effective protest against pat downs....imagine the poor TSAer that tried to touch this goofball's junk.

Yet another opportunity lost due to idiots.

How's that Airport Security Working Out for You?

The Detroit Free Press: 12 airport employees charged in 2 drug smuggling rings and Details emerge in case of drug smuggling at Detroit Metro Airport

Its pretty clear that for all the show-and-grope of the flying public, they're not scrutinizing the baggage handlers very well, and in fact apparently baggage handlers don't go through security checks before going to work.

Anyone else see the problem with this gaping hole in airport security?

If you can smuggle 16 Kilograms of cocaine and 130 Kilograms of marijuana in one shipment alone (should the fact that the last name of one of the cocaine smuggler's was Coke have been a clue?), a couple pounds of Semtex and an air pressure triggered detonator would be child's play.

Yet another example of government competence in action, FAA department.

FAA loses track of 119,000 aircraft

Yes, the FAA's registry system is so messed up, they don't know with certainty who owns over 1/3 of America's aviation fleet.

The Detroit News:

The Federal Aviation Administration is missing key information on who owns one-third of the 357,000 private and commercial aircraft in the U.S. — a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers.

The records are in such disarray that the FAA says it is worried that criminals could buy planes without the government's knowledge, or use the registration numbers of other aircraft to evade new computer systems designed to track suspicious flights. It has ordered all aircraft owners to re-register their planes in an effort to clean up its files.

About 119,000 of the aircraft on the U.S. registry have "questionable registration" because of missing forms, invalid addresses, unreported sales or other paperwork problems, according to the FAA. In many cases, the FAA cannot say who owns a plane or even whether it is still flying or has been junked.

Already there have been cases of drug traffickers using phony U.S. registration numbers, as well as instances of mistaken identity in which police raided the wrong plane because of faulty record-keeping.

The fix will require re-registering all 357,000 civilly owned US aircraft, causing some major issues with priority on the titles of the aircraft.

The registry errors have already led to innocent aircraft owners being confronted at gunpoint by US law enforcement:

Unreliable data in the system has led to cases of mistaken identity.

Pilot Pierre Redmond said his Cirrus was searched by Customs and Border Protection agents in fatigues and bulletproof vests last year in Ramona, Calif. They told him his tail number had been confused with that of a wanted plane in Florida.

In August, police in Santa Barbara, Calif., detained flight instructors John and Martha King at gunpoint after federal authorities mistook their Cessna for a plane that was stolen in 2002. The Kings are famous in aviation because they produce and star in a popular series of test-preparation videos for pilots.

The error in the Kings' case was eventually traced to a law-enforcement database that is cross-referenced with the FAA's registry, not to the registry itself. But Brown of the FAA called it an example of the real-world consequences of bad recordkeeping.

"It's very, very scary," Martha King said. "If this keeps happening to people, somebody's going to get shot."

As the Instapundit would say, the country's in the very best of hands!

American Muslim Council Claims Airport Scanners To be Un-Islamic

Apparently they might stop terrorists so they're not halal: The Detroit Free Press: Airport body scanners violate Islamic law, Muslims say

Saying that body scanners violate Islamic law, Muslim-American groups are supporting a “fatwa” – a religious ruling – that forbids Muslims from going through the scanners at airports.

The Fiqh Council of North America – a body of Islamic scholars that includes some from Michigan – issued a fatwa this week that says going through the airport scanners would violate Islamic rules on modesty.

Of course the real reason is to make stopping future attacks more difficult:

The decision could complicate efforts to intensify screening of potential terrorists who are Muslim. After the Christmas Day bombing attempt in Detroit by a Muslim suspect from Nigeria, some have called for the use of body scanners at airports to find explosives and other dangerous materials carried by terrorists. Some airports are now in the process of buying and using the body scanners, which show in graphic detail the outlines of a person’s body.

After all, this same group is against having police dogs present in searches of Muslims as that's un-Islamic too.

A bit about the group behind this proclamation:

An earlier version of the group started in the 1960s with the Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada. The chairman of the Fiqh Council is Muzammil Siddiqi, religious director of the Islamic Society of Orange County in California and former president of ISNA.

You will of course note that "Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada" is the North American branch of The Muslim Brotherhood, known in various spots as The Muslim Bortherhood, or HAMAS, with an even more violent off-shoot named Al-Qaeda.

So we have supporters of terrorists and their aims claiming that anti-terrorist measures are un-Islamic - how very convenient.

It's too bad there's not a fatwa from them on committing acts of terrorism against civilians - without any qualifiers.

Plea Deal Possible For NWA 253 bomber?

The Detroit Free Press: Plea deal may be in works in bomb case

Public defenders for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student, are engaged in negotiations that could result in an agreement to share more information and eventually a guilty plea, the unnamed sources told the Washington Post

So, will this information consist of the info he should have gave during his interrogation but didn't because he was Mirandized and then lawyered-up? That's what happens when you treats foreign terrorists as a law enforcement problem.

Another Arab Disturbance On A Northwest Aircraft to Detroit

This is becoming a troubling pattern.

Flight 243, again a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit had four Saudi Arab males removed from the aircraft upon landing.

Detroit Bound Flight Crew Made Jittery by Muslim Passengers
Four Muslim Men Are Questioned After One Hides His Head Under a Blanket

Another jittery flight crew questioned the actions of a few Muslim passengers today, causing yet another flight to be delayed and police to question the four men.
Surveillance footage shows the security breach that resulted in flight delays.

As Northwest Airlines flight 243 from Amsterdam to Detroit -- the same route taken by a Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a plane Christmas Day -- began its descent on Detroit, four passengers began to act in ways that alarmed their fellow passengers.

One or more of the men reportedly pulled a blanket over his head. When the plane landed at around 1:05 p.m., it was met by police.

Apparently they were also joking about terrorism in Arabic, luckily the Air Marshals on board spoke Arabic.

Was this yet another test of the system, especially as it succeeded in exposing 4 Air Marshals that were on the flight, or even a dry run for an attempt perhaps?

Other Bloggers covering this:

The blogprof: Déjà vu: Another Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit disrupted this time by unruly Saudis. Most media only calls them "unruly passengers," won't divulge nationalityDebbie

Debbie Schlussel: AGAIN!: Northwest Amsterdam Flight Disrupted by Unruly Middle Eastern Passengers; UPDATED + VIDEO

Michelle Malkin: Four Saudis disrupt Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight

Imam Elahi Is Upset That The US Will Scrutinize Travellers From Some Arab Countries

Imam Elahi in his irregular column in the Detroit news Religion section, complains that the US is going to subject travellers from certain Muslim-majority countries to higher scrutiny: Expanding terror watch list discriminates against Muslims

In response to the reported attempt by Nigerian Abdulmutallab to ignite explosives aboard the airplane, the Transportation Security Administration has decided to add to the watch list many innocent Americans and passengers from 13 Arab and Muslim countries plus Cuba. This is not the answer.

and he plays the "American liberties card":

While it is an obligation for citizens to contribute to the security of our nation, our liberty must not be a scapegoat. That is the spirit of American Founding Father Patrick Henry.

Hmm., yes some travelers from those countries may be US Citizens but I doubt the majority will be and so its quite the non sequitur feel good phrase.

He also states:

During the past decade, millions of ordinary travelers including myself have navigated the maze of the Amsterdam airport's special security procedures. Yet suddenly this alleged terrorist, whose father had already alerted authorities about extremist associations, passed through security without special checking.

Imam Elahi, you're a former mullah of the Ayatollahs IRANIAN NAVY for Allah's sake! You know the Navy that has made attacks against US interests in the past, for a foreign power that considers America to be the Great Satan, and a country that has launched attacks and supports terrorism against Americans worldwide. If that doesn't mean you merit careful scrutiny then we have a problem.

Of course to Elahi terrorism is bad:

Terrorism is a crime not only against the people and property but also against morality. Detroit Muslim leaders, community members and the Muslim passengers of that aircraft sent a message to the world that there is no place in Islam or in any true faith tradition for terrorism and the destruction of human life. The Ten Commandments says "You shall not murder," and Prophet Mohammad said even in a serious battlefield the life of the enemy's women and children must be safe.

Except of course he's not against terrorism when its for the cause of Islam, then its ok terrorism:

To use Abdulmutallab's case to expand discrimination against Muslims is unfair and immoral. In the beginning, the Palestinians were labeled terrorists because they resisted occupation. This labeling has since spread to all Arabs, Muslims and now Islam itself.

Applying double standards and dividing political violence into good and bad hasn't helped in the past and won't in the future.

So does Elahi now mean that terrorism isn't terrorism when Arabs and Muslims do it, its all just "resisting occupation" or to redress some perpetual grievance or another?

Elahi finishes by throwing out the old root causes canard, ending with a throwaway statement that radicalism could be stopped with better education and social services. Yes, really:

It is caused by social, political, cultural and economic factors and should be treated with education, and social services. To win this struggle, we need to diagnose the diseases and have the determination to create peace and justice. I wish our president the best in dealing with this political and social challenge.

The president will do his best when he and his advisers quit listening to such tripe, and when Elahi and others like him manage to be unequivocal about condemning terrorism without inserting limiting and conditional statements on such condemnation.

Experts say terror watch lists have limited uses

Especially when nobody running security reads them.

(Thanks for the headline, Detroit News)

Arab pulled off Detroit bound flight after threatening to kill Jews

In yet another Detroit-bound Northwest airlines incident, a man was removed from a flight after uttering threats.

The Detroit News: Witnesses: Man taken off Detroit-bound flight shouted anti-Semitic slurs

An airline passenger in Miami proclaimed, "I want to kill all the Jews," before police forced him off a Detroit-bound plane, authorities said today.

Mansor Mohammad Asad, 43, of Toledo, Ohio, was arrested Wednesday night, according to a Miami-Dade Police Department statement. Asad was charged with threats against a public servant, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence.

FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said there were no indications the disturbance was related to terrorism. The bureau was initially brought in to look into the incident but is no longer involved in the investigation. She said the FBI is treating the disruption as a matter for local authorities.

The disturbance forced a taxiing Northwest Airlines flight to turn around at Miami International Airport, according to a news release. Witnesses told investigators who boarded the plane that Asad was loud, disruptive and claimed to be Palestinian.

Officers didn't find any weapons or explosives on Asad, who was reportedly agitated and aggressive at times, according to an arrest affidavit. Authorities used a stun gun to subdue Asad on the jet bridge after he charged at an officer with fists clenched. He also chanted in a foreign language and threatened officers during a search.

"I'm not afraid of you cops. I've gotten in fights with cops in Ohio and broke their arms in three places," he said, according to the affidavit. "I've broken skulls, too!"

The affidavit noted that alcohol didn't appear to be a factor during the incident.

The Transportation Security Administration says three of Asad's companions were also taken off the plane and questioned. The plane departed after a search.

Asad was transported to a Miami-Dade County jail after his arrest, according to the affidavit. A telephone number for county corrections rang unanswered early this morning, and his records could not immediately be located online.

Yet another incident involving Muslim males, Northwest Airlines and Detroit as a destination. Whether this was merely some loudmouth or a dry run to see how officials would react is hard to tell, and this cluster of activities certainly bears watching and investigation.

Alcohol may not have been a factor as noted in the report, but in the immortal words of Mark Steyn something else was, something that begins with an I and ends with a SLAM.

Slovak mistake almost turns man into a cancelled Czech.

Slovak Officials Admit Planting Explosives on Innocent Flier in Security Test

Slovak officials on Wednesday blamed "a silly and unprofessional mistake" for a failed airport security test that led to a man unwittingly carrying hidden explosives in his bag aboard a flight to Dublin.

. . .

Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak expressed "profound regret" to the Irish government for the oversight and the three-day delay in alerting Irish authorities about the Saturday incident.

The explosives never posed a danger to the flight, the interior ministry said Wednesday, even as it ordered an immediate halt to such tests and took steps to prevent a repeat of failed security test.

. . .

Security experts said the episode illustrated the inadequacy of security screening of checked-in luggage — the very point the Slovak authorities had sought to test when they placed real bomb components in nine passengers' bags Saturday.

"The aim of the training was to keep sniffer dogs in shape and on alert in a real environment," the ministry said.

Eight items were detected. But one bag had two bomb components in it. The sniffer dog found one but the police officer in charge failed to remove the second, which was not detected by the dog, because he was busy, the ministry said.

That allowed 90 grams (3 ounces) of RDX plastic explosive to travel undetected through security at Poprad-Tatry Airport in central Slovakia onto a Danube Wings aircraft. The Slovak carrier launched services to Dublin last month.

"The police officer made a silly and unprofessional mistake, which turned the good purpose of protecting people into a problem," the statement said.

Slovak authorities realized their error and told the pilot of the Danube Wings flight, who then decided to still take off with the sample on board, the ministry statement said.

"No one was in danger, because the substance without any other components (needed to bring it to a detonation) and under the conditions it was stored, is not dangerous," the ministry said.

Slovak border police subsequently traced the man and told him where the explosive was planted so that he was able to find it Monday evening, said the ministry. Kalinak, the interior minister, called him to apologize.

The man was not identified. Slovak media said he is a 49-year-old electrician who works and lives in Ireland.

The ministry said it contacted Irish authorities and explained the situation on Tuesday, prompting Irish police to raid the man's Dublin apartment. A major north Dublin intersection was shut down Tuesday and neighboring apartment buildings were evacuated as a precaution while Irish Army experts inspected the explosive.

The man was detained for several hours then released without charge.

Irish police said they initially were led to believe the man might be a terrorist until the Slovaks explained the situation further.

Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said Dublin police eventually confirmed that the explosive "was concealed without his knowledge or consent ... as part of an airport security exercise."

The Slovak statement criticized the Irish police action.

"For an incomprehensible reason for us, they took the person into custody and undertook further security measures," it said.

Authorities in Slovakia were considering "new forms of sniffer dog training" to avoid a repeat of the scare, the ministry said.

One would hope so.

On the upside, at least they are performing very realistic tests.....