"9/11 terror panel probes Logan"

Sunday, May 23, 2004

9/11 terror panel probes Logan
By Noelle Straub
The Boston (MA) Herald


WASHINGTON - As part of its high-profile probe of the 2001 terrorist
strikes, the Sept. 11 commission has reviewed a series of Massachusetts
Port Authority documents related to security measures and evaluations at
Logan International Airport prior to the attacks. 
 
While the 10 commissioners have held a series of nationally televised
hearings with top government officials, panel staffers also have
scrutinized Logan, where the two hijacked planes that crashed into the
World Trade Center towers originated. 
 
But it remains uncertain whether the commission, known formally as the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, will
mention Massport in its final report due out July 26, sources said. 
 
The commission has probed the level of cooperation between the FBI,
state police and Massport and the amount of intelligence the agencies
had received or shared about possible security threats prior to the
attacks, sources said. 
 
The documents requested by the commission included the layouts of the
terminals and specifics on the hijacked flights that departed Logan,
according to Massport spokeswoman Barbara Platt. 
 
Focusing on the years before the attacks, the panel also asked for
documents related to security measures, knowledge of potential threats
and pre-Sept. 11 security evaluations. 
 
In 1999, the FAA fined Massport and major airlines operating out of
Logan $178,000 for 136 security breaches. 
 
After the attacks, media coverage about lapses in Logan security and
years of patronage at Massport led to the demotion of security chief Joe
Lawless and the resignation of Executive Director Virginia Buckingham -
who is now assistant editorial page editor at the Herald. 
 
The commission also requested information on lessons learned post-Sept.
11 and security initiatives that were implemented at Logan Airport after
the attacks. 
 
State police at Logan have led the way nationally in using ``behavior
pattern recognition,'' watching people's conduct and mannerisms in order
to stop and question anyone acting strangely. 
 
Commission staffers toured Logan in August and returned to Boston in
November to interview former Massport officials. Buckingham and Lawless
met separately with the commission for several hours each in the Boston
offices of Buckingham's lawyer, Joseph Savage. The panel also
interviewed Aviation Director Thomas Kinton.


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