From aircraft hijackings to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), terrorism challenges the international aviation community daily. The evolving improvi

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Leslie Burke
5 years ago
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1 Remarks of Capt. Wolfgang Koch Aviation Security Chair, Air Line Pilots Association, Int l Before the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Aviation Security: Past Lessons, Future Outlook, and Best Practices Responses Arlington, VA June 28, 2016 Thank you for the invitation to address this esteemed organization during your panel today. I am Capt. Wolfgang Koch, and in addition to flying for a major airline, I serve as the Aviation Security Chair of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). ALPA represents more than 53,000 airline pilots who fly for 31 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA celebrates its 85 th anniversary next month, and the Association was founded on the need to improve aircraft safety with the motto of Schedule with Safety, which continues as our motto to this day. In today s threat environment, we believe that it is most urgent to keep an ongoing dialogue with government and industry for improving aviation security. Security truly is aviation s Achilles heel, so to speak, as was borne out on 9/11. Government intelligence sources continue to report that aviation is a bulls-eye target for terrorists because aviation is the backbone of our nation s economy. The airline industry itself supports more than 11 million jobs and equates to 5% of America s Gross Domestic Product. From moving people for business and tourism to moving cargo, airlines operate day in and day out, all around the globe and into all kinds of threat areas. We can never rest on our laurels regardless of how many security improvements we may achieve. 1

2 From aircraft hijackings to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), terrorism challenges the international aviation community daily. The evolving improvised bomb-making skills of today s terrorist organizations challenge the current threat detection capabilities and aviation security practices worldwide and there is no silver-bullet solution to this problem. All parties government, industry, airlines, crewmembers, law enforcement, airports and the public - must be involved to sufficiently address aviation s security threats. The approach we take to aviation security is somewhat different from that of an academic or policy maker. Aviation security is near and dear to pilots hearts because we live it every single day and trust that the defensive mechanisms in place are adequate to protect our passengers and aircraft and make sure that everyone gets to their destinations safely. But, just because we haven t had a major airline disaster attributed to terrorism on U.S. soil for nearly 15 years doesn t mean we ve subverted the threat. The threat is real and there is always more to be done to make our industry more secure and 2015 were the first two years in a row where the aviation industry saw more deaths attributed to intentional attacks against aircraft rather than safety related accidental loss of life. These figures speak loudly and they are telling us that more needs to be done to safeguard aviation against terrorism and protect our skies against malicious actors. I d be hard pressed to speak about aviation security and not mention 9/11, which demonstrates that the threat against aviation has evolved over the years. In the 60 s and 70 s, aircraft were hijacked and flown to Cuba to make political statements. In the 80 s and 90 s, U.S. aircraft were hijacked in the 2

3 Middle East, mostly for terrorist extortion purposes, but on 9/11, aircraft were used as weapons to commit mass murder and suicide. Our challenge is to predict how the threat will evolve next and put countermeasures in place to protect our industry and country from further acts of violence. Having our airliners used against the United States as weapons of mass destruction was something none of us expected to see. Plainly put, we underestimated the evolving threat and didn t apply proper defensive measures. After 9/11, the government and industry, with ALPA s active involvement, took numerous steps to counter the suicidal terrorist threat: hardened cockpit doors were installed; more Federal Air Marshals were deployed on U.S. aircraft; the Federal Flight Deck Officer program was developed as a last line of defense; revised crew procedures were written to combat hijacking events; and crewmember self-defense training was instituted, among other improvements. Perhaps our biggest lesson learned from 9/11 in regard to aviation security was - we cannot be reactive, we must be proactive and we must focus on the big picture. Countering aviation s known threats and dealing with emerging threats is paramount to dealing with the realities of our everchanging security environment and enemies evolving tactics. So our reaction to this threat must include a multi-faceted approach and it takes the involvement of everyone. When the U.S. fights a war, the burden is put on our Soldiers, Airmen and Marines on the frontlines. In aviation, it s our air crews, law enforcement personnel, security screeners, and airport workers who are on the front lines. Our pilots and cabin crew members are now required to be 3

4 more than just proficient at safely operating an aircraft, they must also undergo extensive security training. We operate in a dynamic environment and therefore we must be prepared to act at any moment against terrorists, IEDs, mentally unstable individuals and the insider threat amongst us under everincreasing public scrutiny. ALPA, as the largest non-governmental safety organization in the world, is committed to unbiased, fact-based evaluation of airline safety and security issues and has an unrivaled reputation for excellence throughout the airline industry. Our pilot groups aviation security committees have involved themselves as partners in industry and government aviation security matters. Security and safeguarding against terrorism runs the entire spectrum from policy makers to the flight crews operating aircraft. I am a strong advocate for educating flight crews and airport workers as the key to enhancing aviation security, because we are the end-users of policy. For example, in May 2016, our group took the initiative to put together a joint exercise with aviation s private and public sectors to address the realities of an ever-emerging IED threat on an aircraft, as was seen in the recent Daallo Airlines Flight 159 laptop bomb and Metrojet Flight 9268 explosion over the Sinai Desert. Our goal is to educate industry partners that our flight crews are first responders to incidents and we must take the initiative to better understand how to react in these types of stressful situations. The more crewmembers are aware of best practices identified in the exercise, the less likely errors will occur if these skills are needed in an actual event. 4

5 Including aircrews in the decision-making process, such as the IED drill that I ve mentioned, and having crew members participate in various security studies, such as ALPA s involvement in the use of cockpit secondary barriers, are examples of how inclusive training can lead to better decision making, which in turn gives policy makers sound data on which to base decisions. Unfortunately, what often happens is a hasty reaction to a security threat, and the pilots, cabin crews and airport workers are left with unrealistic, reactiondriven procedures. Another very real security risk is the insider threat. TSA is coping with this emerging threat and ALPA especially has supported the agency s initiatives by actively participating on working groups to address it. However, industry and government wide, we need to improve on intelligence sharing. We sense a reversing trend in information sharing the further we get from 9/11 where wide-spread changes were made in the intelligence community to enable and facilitate the flow of information to those that need to know. During a December 2015 interview with WTOP radio and news station, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper cautioned: We are still working at integration in this country, not so much horizontally across the intelligence elements, but we still have challenges in sharing at the state, local, tribal and private sector [levels]. Our pilots and crewmembers working in an environment targeted by terrorists must have enough information to know what the threats are and where to look for them. The old adage of See Something, Say Something comes to mind. We must do a better job of involving our industry in the intelligence sharing network to prevent the next attack. We 5

6 advocate for greater industry involvement as the key to placing ourselves ahead of the next attack instead of reacting to it. In addition to the threats I ve already mentioned, aviation s future will also require enhanced security measures in both physical space and cyberspace. Last year alone we encountered more than 7700 reported laser strikes against aircraft on arrival or departure, creating the hazardous combination of pilot distraction and a vision-limited cockpit environment during our most critical phases of flight. We don t have wide-spread use of counter-laser capabilities to protect our eyes from damage nor stop the dizzying effect of laser dazzle as it illuminates our cockpit. Emerging physical safety and security risks include Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), which can be used as weapons against aircraft, airports and infrastructure. Their integration into our airspace and protecting our aircraft from intentional and unintentional mid-air collisions with these systems is a real challenge that we are only now beginning to address. In cyber-space, as our aircraft become more technologically reliant on computer and electronic data inputs, we in turn have greater exposure to nefarious threats from people who wish to do us harm through hacking into our systems. These issues will only become more complex as time goes on. From my perspective, from someone who lives and works in this environment, security must be included on the operator level. Our men and women that work in the airport environment must be educated to identify the threat and must be encouraged to speak up when something doesn t seem right. Now, I m not saying that a new First Officer must be able to identify and address transnational organized crime at an airport, but what I am saying is 6

7 that it takes someone knowing that something isn t right and having the training and resources to report it to the proper authorities who can address it. Identifying just one piece of information may help intelligence and law enforcement connect the dots on the next potential terrorist attack. On the other end of the spectrum, our policymakers must take the opportunity to make security better by taking industry-level input into consideration when addressing security threats. Policymaking must be intelligence-centered, risk-based, evidence-based and fact-driven to provide realistic solutions to the latest threat. All parties involved government, industry, airlines, airports, law enforcement and the public - must understand that security threats are best addressed when we work together for the common purpose of keeping our skies safe and secure. Thanks again for including me on your program. I look forward to our question and answer session. 7

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