Thursday, July 24, 2003
Do-It-Yourself Airport
Security
Boy Scouts Fight Terrorists as O'Hare, Others Install Homemade Shoe
Scanners
By AUDREY WARREN
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
This year,
the Transportation Security Administration will spend billions of dollars to
modernize and standardize airport security. So how exactly did the Boy Scouts
get involved in building shoe-checking equipment for Chicago's O'Hare
International?
In a remarkably homespun solution to what has become a big
hassle for travelers, airports nationwide are installing improvised devices
designed to give people an early warning that their shoes might trigger the
metal detector. Put your foot on a box, and if the box beeps, you're on notice
that you'll need to lose the wingtips if you want to speed through security. The
goal is to accelerate the screening process: No more bottlenecks as travelers
juggle carry-ons, cellphones and babies while trying to de-shoe.
The
emergence of homemade shoe-checkers is the latest indication that federal safety
regulators are still struggling with a way to strike a balance between vigilance
and convenience. While security delays at checkpoints are down sharply overall
this year, in recent weeks they've crept back up as a result of staff cuts.
Shoes remain a big problem: Airports have rolled out policies on shoe removal
that often differ from city to city.
Confusion among passengers about
what to expect in the way of inspections -- will they make me take off the
shoes, or not? -- has driven the wave of improvised shoe-checkers.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Port Columbus International Airport
in Ohio, and Southwest Florida International Airport all have their own
versions. Pittsburgh International Airport's version is named "the Dominator"
after its creator, Dominick Candelore, an airport baggage supervisor. (He has
applied for a patent.) O'Hare has 15 or so of the devices, built by Boy Scout
Troop 37 of Rockford, Ill., as part of a merit-badge project.
Nick Jacobs
encountered one of the machines for the first time last month in the airport in
Madison, Wis. "It kind of looked like a shoeshine box with outlines of giant
feet on it," says the Leesburg, Va., wireless-industry consultant. His shoes
didn't set off the metal detector embedded inside, so he was allowed to walk
through the regular X-ray detector while remaining shod.
Since the
convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid was caught trying to detonate explosives in
his shoe about 18 months ago, footwear inspections have become a key part of the
security routine. Earlier this month, in an attempt to address inconsistent
inspection policies, the TSA announced new guidelines intended to make airport
practices more uniform. Under the new rules, security screeners will encourage
everyone to remove their shoes and send them through the X-ray machine. You
still have the right to keep your shoes on, although that boosts the odds of
being subjected to a more in-depth inspection.
The makeshift
shoe-checkers vary in style and structure, but the guts are usually a wand --
basically, a small metal detector -- like the one that airport inspectors wave
up and down your body when they give you the once-over. Current wands and
detectors don't yet pick up plastic explosives and nonmetallic weapons. That's
why visual or X-ray inspections remain important.
Policy of
Innovation
Not just anyone can stick a wand in a shoebox and set it in an
airport, though. The TSA "advocates innovation," says Rick Spencer, a TSA
official who lives in Illinois, but airports must first obtain approval from an
airport's local TSA representative. TSA officials have no plans to roll out
shoe-checkers nationwide, according to Brian Turmail, a spokesman for the
federal agency.
A few airports have abandoned the makeshift scanners,
including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona. There, staffers
had taped metal-detector wands to the bottom of overturned plastic tubs and
placed them on the floor so travelers could easily put their foot over the wand.
But some travelers were resting their full weight on the tubs -- raising fears
that the brittle plastic might eventually snap and hurt someone. "We certainly
don't want people to get injured," says Marcia Florian, the airport's federal
security director.
Inspiring the Scouts
For travelers who want the
best shot at keeping their feet under wraps, a few shoemakers in the past year
have been redesigning their wares to get metal out. Rockport, a unit of Reebok
International Ltd., is in the process of replacing the metal shank in all its
shoes. (Look for ones with a sticker saying "airport security friendly" on the
box.)
The homemade shoe scanners at the Madison, Wis., airport contain a
wand strapped into a box that's held together with bungee cord and glue. Metal
nails wouldn't work, says TSA official Mr. Spencer, who designed it. After all,
it's a metal detector. Using the box has sped up checkpoints without sacrificing
security, Mr. Spencer says. "We got a lot of frequent fliers that would say,
'Boy, they need one of these at ...,' you know, fill in the blank here," he
says.
His design is the inspiration for the device built by the Boy
Scouts for Chicago's O'Hare. Mr. Spencer mentioned it to a neighbor, whose son
was looking for an Eagle Scout merit-badge project. So far Josh Pfluger, a
15-year-old Scout, has built 15 of the devices with the help of friends in his
garage-turned-woodworking-shop. A white footprint outline on top is marked
"Place Foot Here," and the side reads "Transportation Security Administration."
It also has a sticker of an American flag. "An Eagle Scout project has to be
beneficial to the community as a whole, as well as the whole population of
America" says Dan Pfluger, Josh's dad.
Selected airports with makeshift devices to alert travelers if their shoes have metal in them.
| AIRPORT | DEVICE | CREATOR |
| Chicago O'Hare International Airport | A device with a security-checking wand built in and a footprint on top reading "Place foot here." | Made by Boy Scout Troop 37 in Rockford, Ill. |
| Pittsburgh International Airport | The Dominator brand (named for its creator). A box with wand innards and yellow footprints on top. | Dominick Candelore, airport baggage supervisor |
| Southwest Florida International
Airport Fort Meyers, Fla. |
Plastic container with wand inside and sign on top asking "Do your shoes have metal?" | Dough Perkins, airport federal security director |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport Minnesota |
Box with imprint of a shoe and wand inside | Local airport security officials |
| Port Columbus International Airport
Columbus, Ohio |
Crate with a wand inside and paper footprint on top | Local airport security officials |
| Dane County Regional Airport
Madison, Wis. |
Wood box with footprint and wand | Rick Spencer, airport scheduling operation officer |
