Extensions of Remarks
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
5340 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS April 3, 1989 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS PAN AM BOMBING-FAA European cities, and, in 1986, warned that cleared by law enforcement" and baggage SECURITY RESPONSIBILITY there would be no safety for any traveler on screening, they should be "denied boarding, U.S. airliners. and all other carriers at the location be ad HON. CARDISS COLLINS Bulletin 19 followed Bulletins 17 and 18 de vised of this fact." OF ILLINOIS scribing the PFLP-GC arrests. Bulletin 18, Mr. Speaker, let me now proceed to the full IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES written more than a week after the raids, did analysis of the recent aviation security bulle not mention the radio-cassette player bomb. Monday, April 3, 1989 tins. Instead, it merely directed airline security per The Federal Aviation Administration issued Mrs. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, the subcom sonnel to set up a system to pass along spe 27 aviation security bulletins during 1988 and mittee which I chair as a member of the Com cific threat information "extremely quickly." Al 6 additional bulletins as of February 16, 1989. mittee on Government Operations has been though Bulletin 18 noted the seizure of PFLP Several bulletins contain information that ap investigating on a continuing basis the respon GC "explosives," it focused entirely on the pears to be relevant to the December 21, sibilities of the Federal Aviation Administration possibility that a U.S. airliner would be hi 1988, bombing of Pan Am 103 and the to see that our airlines maintain appropriate jacked. Bombing was not mentioned as a pos security against terrorist and other criminal sible or probably terrorist act. murder of 270 people. acts that threaten the safety of aircraft, pas Pan Am's response to the three FAA securi Considerable information from FAA Bulletins sengers, and crew. ty bulletins on the PFLP-GC arrests was limit 19 and 22 has already been made public. FAA Recently we have been focusing on the ed to examining and x raying selected passen Bulletin 19 advised airlines that a radiocas tragic event that on December 21, 1988, took gers' "carryon baggage" containing electronic sette player bomb designed to explode at high 270 lives, when Pan Am flight 103 was blown devices such as radio, cassette-players, and altitudes had been found in the possession of from the sky by a concealed bomb. We ob calculators. But the bomb that destroyed flight a terrorist group in West Germany. FAA Bulle tained 33 Federal Aviation Administration avia 103 reportedly was carried as checked bag tin 22 described a December 5, 1988, tele tion security bulletins issued between January gage and, if it resembled the PFLP-GC ver phone call to the Helsinki Embassy warning of 1, 1988, and February 16, 1989. We have sion, was specifically designed to thwart a bombing attack on a Pan Am airliner flying analyzed these bulletins and have found that normal x-ray inspection. from Frankfurt to the United States within the some contain information which may be linked Bulletin 20, dated December 5, warned that next 2 weeks. to the December 21 Pan Am bombing. "the use of IED's or bombs remains a favored What I am presenting here, Mr. Speaker, I hope this analysis will help answer some method of attack." IED stands for "improvised does not contain specific details that might of the questions that have been raised about explosive device." But FAA did not recom help terrorists evade security procedures. As I the FAA's role in informing U.S. airlines about mend any action to airlines beyond requiring have said, my hope is to answer some of the terrorist risks and the FAA's response to them to "rigorously" apply existing, and we questions that have been raised about the threats linked to Pan Am's flight 103. Our now know, inadequate, security measures. FAA's role in informing U.S. airlines about ter Government Activities and Transportation Bulletin 21, dated December 7, described rorist risks. Subcommittee plans to hold hearings on this "two incidents that may indicate attempts to Taken as a group, the 33 aviation security matter in April. test security procedures of a U.S. carrier oper bulletins we examined revealed a dismaying Also, I am including with my remarks a letter ating from Frankfurt." One involved a man lack of useful and specific guidance for coun to FAA's Acting Administrator asking that his claiming phony law enforcement status who tering threats. Some were untimely. Some agency conduct an immediate white paper questioned a TWA ticket clerk about proce were inaccurate. Some recommended courses review of Pan Am's vulnerability to terrorist dures for transporting pistols, explosives and of action that were pointless or even ludi attack according to reports by Pan Am's own a detonator. Apparently, no attempt was made crous. security consulting firm in 1986. to detain and question him. The FAA's sole FAA Bulletin 19 deals with the barometric Let me brief the Members first. Then I want response this episode was to disseminate to trigger bomb. On November 17, 1988, the to go into greater detail. Bulletin 21. FAA issued an aviation security bulletin dis Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, these FAA bulle Bulletin 22, written on December 7 and de cussing the so-called IED's or improvised ex tins were sometimes untimely, sometimes scribing the December 5 Helsinski Embassy plosive devices and stating: "Preliminary anal dangerously inaccurate, and almost complete warning, was never updated or rescinded, al yses by West German authorities of impro ly devoid of effective and specific instructions though numerous Federal officials now claim for countering possible threats. Some bulletins the telephone call describing a planned bomb vised explosive devices found in various recommended actions that were pointless or ing attack on a Pan Am flight from Frankfurt stages of preparation during the recent arrests even absurd. Taken as a group, the FAA bul was a hoax and a coincidence. of members of the PFLP-GC Popular Front letins failed to provide meaningful guidance to Bulletin 25, dated 3 days after the Pan Am for the Liberation of Palestine-General Com airlines faced with the risk of terrorist attack. bombing, listed 13 individuals suspected of mand in West Germany, disclosed one IED For example, Bulletin 19, describing a radio planning a hijacking. The FAA advised air car consisting of a Toshiba "Bombeat 453" radio cassette player containing a hard-to-detect riers that if a passenger with one of these containing approximately 300 grams of a plas bomb designed to blow up an aircraft, was names attempts to board an airline, "the indi tic type explosive wrapped in a metallic written November 17, 3 weeks after the vidual should be subjected to intense scrutiny coated "Tobler" brand candy wrapper. After device was discovered when West German during the checkin process." Inexplicably, the stating that the device contained an electrical police arrested members of the Popular Front FAA did not recommend summoning law en detonator, the bulletin continued: "The IED for the Liberation of Palestine, General Com forcement officials or denying boarding. contained a barometric device connected to a mand, or PFLP-GC. That bulletin mistakenly Bulletin 26, dated December 25, the FAA computer chip [NFI], which was believed func advised that the PFLP-GC "has not been listed the numbers on passports believed to tional and apparently part of the trigger or known to undertake terrorist attacks in be in the hands of suspected terrorist~. The arming function." The potential target of this Europe." FAA advised that individuals carrying one of IED, said the bulletin, could not be identified According to the Defense Department's these passports should be "subjected to addi at this time, although it was determined that recent study "Terrorist Group Profiles," the tional scrutiny," including a search for elec the IED would be very difficult to detect via PFLP-GC had machinegunned an airliner in tronic devices. The FAA stated that unless the normal x-ray inspection, indicating that it might Zurich, hijacked two other airliners bound for individuals in question "have been favorably be intended to pass undisclosed through e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. April 3, 1989 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 5341 areas subject to extensive security controls, cal skills-which is unlikely-or West German August 1969-Hijacked a TWA airliner en such as airports. FAA communication had serious flaws. The route to Athens and Tel Aviv and forced it The FAA then provided the following com FAA should have promptly supplied U.S. air to land in Damascus, where the passengers ments: On October 26, 1988, West German were evacuated and the plane was destroyed lines with a definitive analysis of the bomb, a by a time bomb.... police detained 16 persons from various cities photograph, and instructions to aid detection. February 1986-Ahmad Jabril held press throughout West Germany for suspicion of in It is significant that two earlier FAA aviation conference in Libya, stating that there will volvement with planned terrorist actions by security bulletins, No. 17, written on Novem be no safety for any traveler on an Israeli or the PFLP-GC; that is, the Popular Front for ber 2, and No. 18, written November 4, men US airliner. the Liberation of Palestine-General Com tioned the PFLP-GC raids. Bulletin 17 refers It is disturbing, to say the least, that the mand.