"Guns at O'Hare are disappearing from checked bags"

Monday, August 14, 2006

Guns at O'Hare are disappearing
Firearms being stolen from checked bags
By David Heinzmann and Josh Noel
The Chicago (IL) Tribune


Several handguns have been stolen from bags checked by police officers,
military personnel and others on United Airlines flights departing O'Hare
International Airport, sparking concern that the weapons are loose in what
is supposed to be a secure part of the airport.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been "a handful" of firearm
thefts from luggage being handled by United personnel, Chicago police
spokeswoman Monique Bond said. Bags containing guns also have disappeared,
authorities said.

News of an investigation surfaced days after new security restrictions were
placed on airports across the nation in the wake of British authorities
foiling what they said was a plot to blow up U.S.-bound airplanes.

Aviation security experts said stealing from checked luggage long has been a
problem at many airports and that guns are a favored target because they are
easy to smuggle out and easy to sell.

Still another concern is that putting something into a bag could be just as
easy as taking an item out, experts said.

"It's a problem at every airline and every airport," said aviation security
consultant Douglas Laird.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski would not discuss the investigation Sunday
except to say the airline is "working with the authorities on this matter."
United, based in Chicago, is the dominant airline at O'Hare.

Also joining police in the investigation are the FBI and Chicago Department
of Aviation.

For police officers, word of the thefts is being circulated on the Chicago
police union's Web site, which warns of an officer whose weapon was
stolen--one of "several cases" in "an ongoing problem"--that investigators
confirmed for the union.

"United Airlines is having a serious problem with theft at O'Hare Airport,"
a notice on the Fraternal Order of Police site says. "This is something to
think about next time you arrange vacation or business plans. Perhaps United
Airlines is not the correct choice for flights for law enforcement or
military personnel."

The FOP posted the warning as a service to its members after a union
member's gun was stolen, President Mark Donahue said.

He said he knew little about the investigation's status or when the gun was
stolen.

"He expressed his concern [to the union] just in the last week, so I'm
guessing it wasn't too long ago," Donahue said.

Experts said there are generally two sources of such thefts: airline
employees or Transportation Safety Administration baggage screeners.
Stealing from checked luggage is a problem that dates back decades, Laird
said.

People checking in luggage carrying a gun must declare their weapon with a
ticket agent. Stealing the gun could be as easy as a ticket agent notifying
a baggage handler below about which bag to open, Laird said.

Although the law requires guns to be carried in locked, hard-sided cases,
baggage handlers have no problem getting into such luggage, he said.

The other possibility, experts said, is that TSA screeners who X-ray or
inspect bags by hand could be pocketing the guns.

"Nobody has ever really resolved a real way around it," Laird said. "There's
a real dilemma with baggage theft in the airline industry."

Watching the bags with cameras would be very costly, he said, with hundreds
of cameras needed to survey the wide area where bags are handled, he said.

But David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, an advocacy
group for passenger security and savings, said such safety should be a
priority.

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