Over the summer a lot of students took trips by airplane to visit relatives, return home, go on vacations and whatever else took them across the country and the world. All of them passed through the new and improved security at America's airports.
Many got through without a problem. Many others got stopped for "random searches" that could result in confiscations of the most mundane of items. Everyone has heard the stories of nail clippers, scissors and inch-long Swiss Army knives being taken away as "deadly weapons".
Then there are the more extraordinary cases, such as the Congressional Medal of Honor winner who wasn't allowed to take his medal on board. The woman with the vibrator who is now suing over the humiliation she suffered when she was asked to remove it from her luggage.
Another woman was forced to drink three bottles of her own breast milk because screeners feared the liquid might pose a threat to the plane. Just recently, security has been cracking down on the tiny plastic guns carried by GI Joe action figures, which apparently pose a life-threatening danger to the airplane.
Of course, all of these and the many other stories we hear can be written off as isolated incidents. But when enough isolated incidents appear, they cease to be so isolated and become more of a trend. Right now, airline security overreaction is becoming a very bothersome trend.
The core of the issue is fear over the Sept. 11 attacks last year. The rampant paranoia (terror?) of our airline screeners is evidence enough that those attacks affected our nation's outlook in a major way.
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What was most altered, however, was the average American's perception of hijacking. For the most part, hijacking occurred elsewhere in the world, and the results were rarely disastrous. Most of the time the plane just landed in some unfriendly country, negotiations with the hijackers eventually secured the release of the hostages, and before long everyone was back on their way.
Although many foreigners and cynics would say that Americans are a fat and lazy people, there is a lot of courage and heroism still left in the American spirit. This is easily seen in the actions of the passengers of Flight 93, who fought back, probably saving another building full of people.
The only reason the passengers on the other flights did not act the same way was because they did not realize what they were in for. They assumed, very reasonably, that this was just another "routine" hijacking and sat back to wait it out. The passengers on Flight 93, however, talking with relatives and friends via cell phones, learned the hijackers' true intentions and were quick to respond.
From Sept. 11 on, no American on a hijacked plane is going to make the same mistake. Anyone who attempts to hijack an American plane over American soil is going to die brutally as enraged passengers tackle and pummel them mercilessly.
It is good to remember that the most dangerous element on any plane is the passengers. No weapon a potential terrorist could sneak on board would be capable of disabling every passenger before the terrorists could be overcome. The rage and fear following Sept. 11 still burns hot in many Americans, and it would not take much to bring that bottled energy to the surface.
Since the attacks, the FAA has taken a sobering look at its precautionary measures and made some important changes. The flight controllers manning their stations on 9/11 could do little more than watch as the planes cut off radio communication, turned off their transponders and changed course and altitude.
Summoning help used to be a difficult process for them. Now, however, a single button allows flight controllers to scramble fighter jets. Since Sept. 11, any plane that deviates from its course too much or wanders into restricted airspace has found itself in imminent danger of destruction.
This information should be printed on the emergency instruction pamphlets included in every seat on our planes. Right next to the evacuation procedures should be a drawing depicting enraged passengers stepping on a terrorist's face. Another panel could explain that the passengers will have an average of, say, 20 minutes to regain control of the plane after it changes course.
Between the adrenaline of the passengers and the efficiency of our Air Force, another Sept. 11 is very unlikely. There is little sense in confiscating all potential weapons from passengers, since those "weapons" are just as likely to be used in subduing hijackers as aiding them.
Passengers on a hijacked plane do not have a lot of rosy alternatives to choose between. But know that Americans are on their guard and ready to take out their anger on anyone who even pretends to be a terrorist. And if a guy with a razor blade ever tries to take over an airplane you're on, keep in mind that it's easier to live through getting cut than it is to survive being hit by an air-to-air missile.
by Craig A. Butler
Daily Lobo Columnist
