REPORT OF THE - Archives - Syracuse University

the Commission as a "daily check list" mentality at the FAA and what the General
Accounting Office had identified over several years as the FAA's purely "reactive"
attitude.
Although the FAA has had procedures to identify problems, those procedures tend to
limit inspectors solely to the items set forth on their "check list." More significantly, the
FAA appears to have had no mechanism to audit a pattern of those problems or to
anticipate problems and solve them before disaster occurs.
Pan Am operations, found to be minimally satisfactory in October 1988, were the subject
of a proposed $630,000 fine after an investigation beginning in December 1988. Those
same operations were assessed as "very poor" in January 1989 but checked off as
"satisfactory" in February, only to be found "totally unsatisfactory" in May 1989.
The destruction of Flight 103 and its horrible loss of innocent lives is a reality. The
potential for terrorist sabotage of another aircraft cannot be eliminated entirely. The
apparent lack of priority placed on this problem by the carrier and the lack of action by
the FAA in enforcing its own standards, however, are lapses that must not recur.
[PICTURE NOT INCLUDED]
The United Kingdom Air Accidents Investigation Board has reconstructed a major
portion of the fuselage of Pan Am Flight 103. This is the end section showing the lower
baggage hold and the passenger deck of the doomed airliner.
The attitude that prevailed both before and after Flight 103 must be changed permanently.
The initiative shown by the new FAA Administrator in September 1989 is a good step in
the right direction. However, as discussed elsewhere in this Report, much more remains
to be done.
CHAPTER 3
THE AVIATION SECURITY SYSTEM
Overview
Created in 1958, the Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for ensuring the
safety of air travel. As part of that mission, the FAA Office of Civil Aviation Security
establishes security requirements, inspects airline and airport security operations and
issues civil penalties for noncompliance with those requirements. Security at foreign
airports is provided primarily by the host country. At selected, high risk airports, the FAA
required U.S. air carriers to conduct security procedures that go beyond the host country's
requirements. For domestic airports, security is a joint effort between the air carriers and
the airport operators.
In 1961, the first hijacking of an American flag carrier occurred in the United States. The
domestic aviation security system that has evolved since that date has been partially
effective in meeting this hijacking threat. There were two hijackings of U.S. aircraft in
both 1988 and 1989, the lowest number since 1976.
FAA's role in aviation security expanded significantly in 1985 with passage of Public
Law 99-83, the International Security and Development Cooperation Act. The Act