"Security gaps at Sky Harbor"

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Opinion
Security gaps 
A stolen truck reveals holes in protection at Sky Harbor
The Arizona Republic


A man in a stolen truck breaks through a fence at Sky Harbor International
Airport, drives onto the runway and past airliners loaded with passengers. 

The incident last Thursday was the second time in two years that a vehicle
has smashed through fences at Sky Harbor to end up on the airfield. 

It's a heck of a way to discover gaps in airport security.

The federal Transportation Security Administration has focused its attention
on beefing up measures inside airports. But it has paid too little attention
to the exterior, according to a Government Accountability Office report last
year. 

The security agency requires no more protection around the edge of an
airport, a prime target for terrorists, than you'd put around a junkyard: a
6-foot chain fence topped with barbed wire. 

Sky Harbor is actually ahead of the agency and many other airports on this
score. Fences are being raised to 8 feet and topped with razor wire.
Concrete barriers and walls are being installed. River rock is being laid
next to fences to deter vehicle access. 

Although terrorism is our uppermost fear post-9/11, an urban airport like
Sky Harbor must take strong steps to guard against more immediate security
threats at its edges: drunken drivers, intoxicated people climbing fences on
addled whims, and, yes, people in stolen vehicles. 

The truck broke through a fence in a parking lot, a place where it never
occurred to officials that a crash would occur. 

This is America's challenge in a nutshell: to be a step ahead in recognizing
our vulnerable spots. 

Although the latest breach at Sky Harbor is worrisome, Aviation Director
David Krietor is planning a prudent follow-up to analyze the incident with
police and to review similar areas around the airport. 

On a more reassuring note, the air-traffic control system functioned
effectively, keeping close tabs on the truck and stopping all aircraft on
the ground. 

The Sky Harbor incident should be more than a local lesson. The
Transportation Security Administration must take stronger measures to ensure
the exterior security of airports.


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