Pilots didn't crash EgyptAir plane - there was an explosion
Greetings from... would you believe Lakewood, New Jersey?
Remember that EgyptAir plane that went down over the Mediterranean on a flight from Paris to Cairo back in May? This time, it wasn't a pilot suicide that crashed the plane. It was a more mundane form of terrorism: a bomb explosion.
Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday said investigators
found traces of explosive materials on the remains of the victims aboard
EgyptAir Flight MS804.
...
Egyptian officials in July said the word "fire" was clearly audible from cockpit voice recorder
before the plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19, killing
all 66 people aboard. The plane was traveling from Paris to Cairo.
Electronic messages sent out by the jet showed smoke detectors going
off in a toilet and in the avionics area of the plane moments before it
crashed.
The ministry said a forensic report "included a reference to find traces of explosive materials some human remains for victims of the accident."
Think about that the next time you take off from Paris. Yours truly was practically strip-searched by French 'security' while boarding a flight from Paris to the US a few months ago. I guess I fit the profile (not!).
Could implementing Israeli airport security actually save Americans money?
I've been arguing for years that Americans would be safer at a lower cost if they adopted Israeli style airport security. Now, in a scathing indictment of the TSA and its creators (Congress with enhancements by the Obama administration), the same argument is being made by John Tierny.
It was the federal government, not the private screeners, that set
the policy allowing small knives and box cutters to be brought onto
planes. Federal guidelines prevented airlines from arming pilots and
reinforcing cockpit doors. The feds also stopped the private security
firms from using an existing system to identify high-risk passengers,
which would have singled out some of the hijackers for special
screening.
Instead of learning from those mistakes, the Senate doubled down on
central planning, voting unanimously to turn airport screening into a
federal monopoly. The only intelligent deliberation occurred in the
House of Representatives, where Republicans actually listened to experts
from countries with considerable experience in aviation terrorism.
Israel and European nations had learned the hard way that good security
requires a division of responsibility. An independent watchdog is
essential to ensure that screeners are doing their job, and the obvious
candidate for that role is the federal government. But that means that
someone else has to do the screening. The watchdog can’t watch itself.
House Republicans heeded the experts’ advice, and they had the votes
to trump House Democrats yearning for more federal workers. The House
passed a bill to establish a system modeled on the one used in Israel,
Canada, and Europe: each airport would run its own screening system, and
the feds would have wide authority to set standards, monitor
performance, and mandate improvements. When it came time to reconcile
the competing bills, however, Senate Democrats stood firm, and the House
Republicans were denounced for putting ideology above national
security. One of the loudest critics was New York Times columnist
Paul Krugman, who was such an ardent cheerleader for the TSA that he
deserves to have the line at Newark Airport named after him. “The
right’s fanatical distrust of government is the central fact of American
politics, even in a time of terror,” Krugman wrote. Exploiting the
public affection for firefighters after September 11, Krugman argued
that the Republicans’ anti-TSA ideology would logically call for the
elimination of the New York City Fire Department because fire protection
should be a purely private responsibility.
I actually part company with Tierny over the Europeans. In many ways, their security is worse than the Americans. First, like the Americans, they don't profile. Second, they don't screen their screeners well enough, with the result that their airport security is staffed by people who have gone on to commit terrorist attacks. Third, they don't take advantage of the possibility of keeping people with connecting flights in sterile areas, so they don't have to be re-screened. Instead, they throw you out of the sterile area (in many instances, even if you're changing planes in the same terminal), requiring you to go through security again.
Last month, I was 'randomly selected' at Paris-DeGaulle (despite only connecting there, and despite being an elite flyer and old enough not to fit anyone's terrorist profile) for 'extra screening' on my way to board a flight to Philadelphia. I was practically strip searched, and the idiot went through every one of the nearly 20 pockets in my backpack with obviously no clue of what it was he was supposed to look for.
So, no, I don't want a European system. I want an Israeli one where people who have training in psychology profile passengers instead of randomly picking people out of a line like me or like the lady at the top of this post.
Like all government monopolies, the TSA blames its failures on lack
of funding. But it’s already spending way too much, as demonstrated in a
congressional study
comparing TSA screeners in Los Angeles with non-TSA screeners in San
Francisco, one of the few airports allowed to run its own system,
contracting with a private company. If LAX switched to the San Francisco
model, the study concluded, it could cut its screening costs by more
than 40 percent.
The San Francisco private company’s screeners received the same
salary and benefits as TSA screeners, but they were so much better
trained and deployed that each one processed 65 percent more passengers
than a TSA screener in Los Angeles. They apparently enjoyed better
working conditions, too, because they were much less likely to quit
their jobs. And in tests by federal investigators, they were three times
better at detecting contraband.
As far as I am aware, Israel's system is all government run (although, come to think of it, I don't recall ever hearing that they went on strike, which all government unions do from time to time). But the key (other than the profiling) is that Israel's system has redundancy. They have more than one shot at catching terrorists. There's security before you ever get near the airport. If you arrive in a taxi, the security guard nearly always rolls down the window and asks where you're coming from - to hear your accent. If they're suspicious, the car is pulled over and searched. There's a security guard standing outside each door to the terminal, randomly pulling people over. You wait in a long line that moves VERY quickly to screen your checked baggage. Before they screen your checked baggage, they ask who packed it and where was it, and do you know why they're asking that question (Anne Murphy). They're looking for your manner (because they're trained in psychology) more than your answers. They always ask you if anyone gave you something to take with you. Usually, I just say no. A few months ago, I brought back a Torah scroll for someone and I spilled the beans to El Al (not Heathrow) security in London. They asked me who gave it to me and how well I knew the person. They were satisfied with my answers and let it go.
And then there's the security screening you're all used to abroad, which splits into 15-20 lines, most of which are not more than 10 minutes long. I usually get through all the security screening in 30-45 minutes and I have no priority status in Ben Gurion. That's no longer than anyplace else (one of the frequent excuses I hear why the Israeli system cannot be implemented elsewhere).
In Europe, when I'm not checking a bag, it takes about the same time (although in London that's only because I'm fast-tracked as an elite flyer with a British Airways partner - Heathrow is one of the worst airports in which to transfer if you have no privileges).
In the US, they don't screen checked bags until after they get them, and I get through security more quickly in most airports because (a) I'm an elite flyer (exception - Philadelphia where there's no such thing) or (b) I get TSA pre-cleared (always happens in Boston, usually in Chicago, rarely in Philadelphia).
TSA clearly needs to be reformed. It won't happen with Obama in power (he allowed them to unionize in 2011, which is what's preventing more airports from opting out) and it won't happen if Hillary Clinton wins the election either.
Don't be surprised: 50 ISIS supporters work as baggage handlers in Brussels
This may come as a surprise to some of you, but for reasons I will explain later in this post, it doesn't surprise me at all. Quoting Brussels police, London's Daily Mail report that there at least 50 ISIS supporters working as baggage handlers at Brussels Airport.
In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed.
The airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.
The extraordinary claims come after the Mail reported how the family of two of the bombers involved in the attacks last week said they had worked as cleaners at the airport.
‘Some people suspected of having fought in Syria came to the airport as “false tourists”.
We reported their presence but we do not know if anything was done with that information,’ the airport police wrote in their letter.
The officers said they had raised suspicions about certain staff members including those who apparently celebrated after the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people.
‘When we checked these people, we were surprised more than once. It was men with a radical ideology and a long police history,’ the officers continued.
‘Even today, there are at least 50 supporters of the Islamic state who work at the airport. They have a security badge and have access to the cockpit of a plane.
‘In the past, a number of people had their badges revoked because they had IS sympathies. But clearly not everyone, especially in store personnel, cleaning services and baggage where we find the most suspicious people.’
Police raised concerns about inadequate security at the airport just four days before the attack took place.
The Belgian police union, NSPV, told the interior ministry on Friday 18 March that they would go on strike unless it was improved.
A disaster waiting to happen, God Forbid. So why am I not surprised at it? Long time readers may remember this story. I've mentioned many times on this blog my July 2003 conversation
with an El Al security person at London's Heathrow Airport, who told me
that since Heathrow employees were involved in a suicide bombing at Mike's Place in Tel Aviv in April 2003, El Al no longer trusts Heathrow security.
It's not just Heathrow. Until recently - and they may yet go back to it - if you arrived in Europe from the US on an American or European airline and you were connecting to El Al to go to Israel, you had to go down to the tarmac, claim your bags, open them and confirm to the security people that nothing had changed since you checked them in.
Two days after the Brussels attacks, I flew home to Israel from San Francisco. I won't say where I changed on the way, but I had about four hours in a European airport before boarding an El Al flight. I happened to sit down near my flight's gate before it was even posted, and I could hear El Al security speaking very conspicuously in Hebrew to someone down on the tarmac before the equipment arrived. It was clear to me that El Al is still doing its own security in Europe. I did not have to claim my bags in Europe.
Many Westerners are more scared of being labeled as illiberal or
nativist than they are of being unsafe.
Islamic terrorists sense that Westerners are increasingly materialist
rather than spiritual. Europeans in particular are becoming more
secular. Their birthrates are declining. And they seem to believe more
in satisfying their appetites than in finding transcendence through
children and religion.
As a result, jihadists trust that they can cull a handful of
Westerners every few weeks from an otherwise indifferent herd. Their
only challenge is to keep the harvest of Westerners down to a few dozen
and not to get greedy in their bloodlust.
Terrorists seem to believe that as long as they avoid another 9/11-like
massacre, they can continue to take lives and insidiously weaken the
West without awakening it from its morally indifferent slumber.
And they may be right.
And the American elites are similar to the European ones. 'Westerners' includes both Americans and Europeans. Read the whole thing.
Confirmed: Suspicious package on Air France flight was a (fake) bomb
A suspicious package on an Air France flight from Port Louis, Mauritius to Paris that forced the plane to land in Nairobi has been confirmed to be a bomb.
BREAKING: Suspicious package found between Air France luggage headed from Kenya to Paris confirmed as a bomb. #AF463pic.twitter.com/k6WTEb3SWS
Report: Lubitz tweeted "A Germany in which religious feelings have more rights than the meaning of freedom - is not my Germany"
Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Germanwings plane who deliberately crashed in the Alps on Tuesday killing 150 people, retweeted (actually looks more like shared on Facebook) the photo above, with the caption "A Germany in which religious feelings have more rights than the meaning of freedom - is not my Germany." (Hat Tip: Mike K).
And the New York Times reported on Friday that Lubitz "lived, at least part time, with his parents. Mr. Lubitz’s mother was an organist at a Protestant church near the town center.”
Mike K adds:
Here is the sad, but probably true story.
He is not a murderer or Muslim.
He took medications which overcame him as he flew. The
Pharmaceuticals do not tell the public all the
side-effects of their meds. They put people into murderous, zombie
like states. Most school shooters were on anti-depressants.
There is every reason to believe that this guy may have been overcome by
his medications. Medications
which are legal for pilots to take. The FAA allows pilots to fly on
SSRI anti-deressants (Click
Here)
SSRI medications are chemically similar to LSD-25. He could
have had a flash back without warning.
He did not say Allahu Aqbar. Those are the magic words required to
get 72 virgins. So he was probably
NOT Muslim.
His heart rate remained steady. Not something one would expect from a
man soon expecting death.
His medication probably did this to him, or a medical condition.
Morally, his culpability may be minor or non-existent.
German media: Germanwings co-pilot did it for Allah
German media is confirming that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Gunter Lubitz had converted to Islam. Lubitz was the co-pilot of the Germanwings Airbus A-320 who deliberately flew the plane into a mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday killing all 150 people on board, after locking the pilot out of the cockpit cabin.
A German news website claims Andreas Lubitz was a Muslim convert. Speisa.com reported:
According to Michael Mannheimer, a writer for German
PI-News, Germany now has its own 9/11, thanks to the convert to Islam,
Andreas Lubitz.
Translation from German: All evidence indicates that the copilot of Airbus machine in
his six-months break during his training as a pilot in Germanwings,
converted to Islam and subsequently either by the order of
“radical”, ie. devout Muslims , or received the order from the book of
terror, the Quran, on his own accord decided to carry out this mass
murder. As a radical mosque in Bremen is in the center of the investigation, in which the convert was staying often,
it can be assumed that he – as Mohammed Atta, in the attack against New
York – received his instructions directly from the immediate vicinity
of the mosque. Converts are the most important weapon of Islam.
Because their resume do not suggests that they often are particularly
violent Muslims. Thus Germany now has its own 9/11, but in a reduced
form. And so it is clear that Islam is a terrorist organization that are
in accordance with §129a of the Criminal Code to prohibit it and to
investigate its followers. But nothing will happen. One can bet that the
apologists (media, politics, “Islamic Scholars”) will agree to assign
this an act of a “mentally unstable” man, and you can bet that now, once
again the mantra of how supposedly peaceful Islam is will continue. And
worse still, the attacks by the left against those who have always
warned against Islam, will be angrier and merciless.
For now the German Islam supporters like never before have their backs against the wall.
Michael Mannheimer, 26.3.2015
Apparently from the comments at German PI – Andreas Lubitz was Muslim convert from his Facebook page.
Of course, in much of the West it remains politically incorrect to mention these facts. And there is little hope that the airlines will screen their pilots for religious beliefs. Until they get hit with a huge lawsuit because they should have known something like this.
Airlines are changing procedures to ensure two crew are in the cockpit at all times following the Germanwings tragedy that killed 150 people.
...
Now budget carrier EasyJet has announced the move will come into force tomorrow - and aviation insiders say there are moves to make it 'mandatory' across airlines.
The move comes after the Civil Aviation Authority urged airlines to review their policies to avoid the pilot or co-pilot being alone at the controls.
An easyJet spokeswoman said: 'easyJet can confirm that, with effect from Friday 27 March, it will change its procedure which will mean that two crew members will be in the cockpit at all times.
'This decision has been taken in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority. The safety and security and of its passengers and crew is the airline's highest priority.'
EasyJet said a cabin crew member will temporarily enter the cockpit if the pilot or co-pilot needs the toilet. The airline will not have a third trained pilot on board.
And a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said: 'We always ensure we have the highest safety standards and, while it is our common practise to have two members of our crew in the flight deck at all times, in light of recent events we are now in the process of formalising this to be policy.'
So now commercial air travel will be safe so long as both pilots are not Muslims... and so long as a flight attendant is willing and able to overpower a suicidal pilot.
Questions about the religious background of Andreas Lubitz, the
Germanwings pilot who investigators said deliberately crashed a plane in
the French Alps this week, killing all on board, have sparked outrage
and debate about whether such information is relevant to the
investigation. When a reporter asked French Prosecutor Brice Robin of
Marseille, during a news conference Thursday, whether he knew Lubitz’s
religion, Robin said he did not know and added, “I don’t think that’s
where the answer to this lies.”
The question suggested that Lubitz’s religious background was
relevant to the investigation behind the pilot’s alleged deliberate
downing of Germanwings Flight 9525 on Tuesday. Robin said the crash did
not show any signs of terrorism. Some were appalled by the reporter’s
inquiry.
“This line of questioning makes no sense to me whatsoever,” said
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, an associate professor of political science with
a courtesy appointment in religious studies at Northwestern University
in Illinois. “I find it disturbing and depressing that at a time like
this some people feel compelled to search desperately for explanations
that presume religious causation.”
Really, Professor Hurd? NO SENSE? It's all just a coincidence?
In 1999, the pilot of a Boeing 767 intentionally plunged the fully
loaded plane into the Atlantic Ocean 30 minutes after takeoff from New
York City on a nonstop flight to Cairo. An investigation found the
pilot, Gamal al-Batouti, had said several times in
Arabic, “I rely on God,” as the plane's autopilot function was
disconnected and Egypt Air 999 plunged. The phrase is often associated
with the moments before death.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded that no
mechanical event could have caused the plane to dive. But Egyptian
officials never accepted the conclusion that al-Batouti had
intentionally crashed, and conspiracy theories spread.
Investigators are now telling the London Telegraph that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was taken on a suicide mission.
The team investigating the Boeing 777’s disappearance believe no malfunction
or fire was capable of causing the aircraft’s unusual flight or the
disabling of its communications system before it veered wildly off course on
a seven-hour silent flight into the sea. An analysis of the flight’s
routing, signalling and communications shows that it was flown “in a
rational way”.
An official source told The Telegraph that investigators believe “this has
been a deliberate act by someone on board who had to have had the detailed
knowledge to do what was done ... Nothing is emerging that points to
motive.”
Asked about the possibility of a plane malfunction or an on-board fire, the
source said: “It just does not hinge together... [The investigators] have
gone through processes you do to get the plane where it flew to for eight
hours. They point to it being flown in a rational way.”
...
The flight remains shrouded in mystery and misinformation. Malaysia Airlines
revealed for the first time yesterday that Fariq Abdul Hamid, the
27-year-old co-pilot, was on his first flight aboard a Boeing 777 as a
fully-approved pilot. Fariq joined the airline seven years ago and had flown
2,763 hours but was only on his sixth flight in the cockpit of a 777 – and
his first without a check pilot overseeing him.
But analysts said the co-pilot’s inexperience in a 777 cockpit would probably
not have posed a risk.
Somewhat surprisingly, Malaysia Airlines said last night its “prayers go out
to all the loved ones of the 226 passengers and of our 13 friends and
colleagues” – even though the passenger manifest shows 227 passengers and 12
crew. The airline has not yet explained the discrepancy.
Would not have posed a risk, but would have made it much more likely
that it took him a while to figure out what was going on. And most of
the passengers probably never knew what happened. Unless someone had a
transponder (unlikely), most passengers on a flight like that would just
go to sleep. The crew probably served dinner without realizing what
their captain had done. From the families' perspective, they might take
some solace in the fact that the passengers probably died peacefully -
many of them in their sleep.
The captain - distraught over a divorce and over his political idol
being jailed, and devout in his Muslim religion (that which must never
be mentioned) - took them all down with him.
It was said that Lubitz had a Muslim girlfriend. It is unclear if she
was still dating Lubitz at the time of the crash. It is unclear if he
met the woman through his Muslims friends.
One said that Lubitz had broken off the relationship after he pledged to commit Jihad for Allah.
We do know that Lubitz trained at the Lufthansa Flight Training School in Bremen, Germany.
Bremen is home to the Mosque Masjidu-l-Furqan Mosque:
This Mosque was raided by the police in December 2014
BERLIN, Dec 5 (KUNA) — German authorities have closed a mosque in the
northern city of Bremen, after it was accused of encouraging youth to
join the extremist Islamic State group (known as ISIL), which is
carrying out violent killings across Syria and Iraq.
In unprecedented circumstances, more than 100 German police personnel
carried out a search of Masjidu-l-Furqan and its accompanying cultural
office, which had both been under police radar since 2007.
The decision comes amid the fight against ISIL ideology, Bremen Interior
Secretary Ulrich Maurer said, accusing the mosque’s management of
promoting ISIL values and encouraging young Muslims in the city to
travel to Syria and Iraq, and join the ranks of the group, along with
Al-Nusra Front – another extremist group in Syria.
The centre have so far succeeded in inspiring a total eight men, seven
women and 11 juveniles to travel to Syria and join ISIL, according to
the official.
Lubitz did his time in Bremen when the Mosque was under surveillance.
...
Lubitz converted to Islam during his break.
Reason that pushed Lubitz over the edge? The raid on the Mosque in Breman this past December?
The Police say they found a significant discovery in his home - not a suicide note:
Police investigating the Germanwings crash said they had made a
'significant discovery' at the home of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who
deliberately ploughed the Airbus A320 into the French Alps. Officers
refused to reveal details of the potential breakthrough but said it was
not a suicide note. Speaking outside the flat on the outskirts of
Dusseldorf, police said they had 'found something' that would now be
taken for tests, adding it may be a 'clue' as to what happened to the
doomed jet. Daily Mail Read More>>>
Is the significant discovery something Islamic? Something on his computer? A Koran? A Muslim prayer rug?
And for those of you who - like me - have the choice of flying Israeli, European or American airlines, here is a sobering thought:
The A320 is designed with safeguards to allow emergency entry if a
pilot inside is unresponsive, but the override code known to the crew
does not go into effect — and indeed goes into a lockdown — if the
person inside the cockpit specifically denies entry, according to an
Airbus training video and a pilot who has six years of experience with
the jets.
Airlines in Europe are not required to have two people
in the cockpit at all times, unlike the standard U.S. operating
procedure after the 9/11 attacks changed to require a flight attendant
to take the spot of a briefly departing pilot.
Sounds like the US procedure is a good idea. I don't know what the Israeli procedure is, but I would guess there is some kind of safeguard to keep a lone pilot from crashing a plane.
What a sad commentary on our times that these things are necessary.
The co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings jet locked his captain out of the cockpit before deliberately crashing into a mountain to 'destroy the plane', it was sensationally revealed today.
French prosecutor Brice Robin gave further chilling details of the final ten minutes in the cockpit before the Airbus A320 plunged into the French Alps killing 150 people.
Revealing data extracted from the black box voice recorder, he said the co-pilot - 28-year-old German Andreas Lubitz - locked his captain out after the senior officer left the cockpit.
At that point, Lubitz used the flight managing system to put the plane into a descent, something that can only be done manually - and deliberately.
He said: 'The intention was to destroy the plane. Death was instant. The plane hit the mountain at 700kmh (430mph).
'I don't think that the passengers realised what was happening until the last moments because on the recording you only hear the screams in the final seconds'.
Earlier in the flight, Mr Robin said Lubitz's responses were initially courteous, but became 'curt' when the captain began the mid-flight briefing on the planned landing of the plane.
The captain - named by local media as German father-of-two Patrick Sonderheimer - then left the cockpit but found himself locked out when he tried to re-enter.
Mr Robin said: 'We hear the pilot asking the co-pilot to take over and we hear the sound of a chair being pushed back and a door closing so we assume that the captain went to the toilet or something.
'So the co-pilot is on his own, and it is while he's on his own that the co-pilot is in charge of the plane and uses the flight management system to start the descent of the plane.
'At this altitude, this can only be done voluntarily. We hear several shouts from the captain asking to get in, speaking through the intercom system, but there's no answer from the cockpit.'
Audio from the recording captures Mr Sonderheimer furiously pounding on the door to no avail.
Russia Today has published a list of the nationalities of the passengers and crew of Germanwings 9525, which crashed on Wednesday in the French Alps. The list is not just Spaniards and Germans. It includes two Iranians, two Venezuelans, an Israeli and two Americans.
12:47 GMT:
AFP reports that these are the
nationalities of the A320 victims, which have been confirmed by either
Germanwings or the country’s governments:
72 Germans
35 Spaniards; Spain says there may be up to 39
3 British, confirmed by the government, which says there may be more.
3 Kazakhs
2 Americans
2 Argentines
2 Australians
2 Colombians
2 Iranians
2 Japanese
2 Venezuelans
1 Belgian
1 Dane
1 Dutch
1 Israeli
1 Mexican
1 Moroccan
1 Turk
Obviously, the nationalities could be totally innocent and I would not suspect that, for example, the Israeli and the Americans were involved in any foul play. Or the nationalities could be less than innocent.
Here's a report from the Guardian's website on the ongoing search and rescue operations for Germanwings flight 9525, which crashed on Tuesday in the French Alps.
In Washington, the White House said the crash did not appear to have
been caused by a terrorist attack. Lufthansa said it was working on the
assumption that the tragedy had been an accident, adding that any other
theory would be speculation. French president Francois Hollande will
visit the area on Wednesday along with German chancellor Angela Merkel
and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy.
Germanwings said the plane started descending one minute after
reaching its cruising height and continued losing altitude for eight
minutes.
“The aircraft’s contact with French radar, French air traffic
controllers, ended at 10.53 am at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. The
plane then crashed,” Germanwings’ Managing Director Thomas Winkelmann
told a news conference.
Winkelmann later said some Germanwings crew members had declared
themselves unfit to fly, leading to some cancellations. “We understand
that on a day like today, they wouldn’t feel able to fly,” he told
German broadcaster ZDF.
Experts said that while the Airbus had descended rapidly, it did not seem to have simply fallen out of the sky.
A Lufthansa flight from Bilbao to Munich on Nov. 5 lost altitude
after sensors iced over and the onboard computer, fearing the plane was
about to stall, put the nose down. As a result, the European Aviation
Safety Agency ordered a change in procedure for all A320 jets.
Asked whether something similar could have occurred on Tuesday,
Winkelmann said, “At this time this evening, we are ruling out a
possible cause in this area.”
France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, has told RTL radio all
options must be looked into to explain why the Airbus A320 ploughed into
an Alpine mountainside on Tuesday but a terrorist attack is not the
most likely scenario.
A journalist, speaking with a Spanish accent, asked during a press
conference: “Germanwings this morning explained something about this
flight, what do you think of that?”
It’s not clear to what she was referring but the Lufthansa representative seemed to understand.
Heike Birlenbach, Lufthansa vice-president for Europe initially
blocked the question with a fairly standard ‘No Comment’ but then turned
to her advisors and added in German.
“That was what he was not supposed to say.”
What was the question and why was it (apparently) not to be brought up at the press conference? Let's look at the press conference first.
Let's go to the videotape.
I watched the press conferences given by Germanwings' CEO and by the Deputy Interior Minister of France, and I didn't find anything suspicious. Hmmm.
Egypt Air 990, Malaysia Air 370 and... Germanwings 9525?
Am I the only one with the sickening feeling that the unexplained loss of Germanwings 9525 may be yet another pilot suicide? (I know I'm not because someone already emailed me with the same suspicion).
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve
said a black box had been found, but did not say whether it was a data
recorder or a cockpit voice recorder.
“A black box was found and will be delivered to investigators,” Cazeneuve told reporters.
The crew of the Germanwings flight did not send a distress signal, civil aviation authorities told AFP.
“The crew did not send a Mayday. It was air
traffic control that decided to declare the plane was in distress
because there was no contact with the crew of the plane,” the source
said.
France’s junior transport minister said there were no survivors from the crash.
Photos of crash site from the La Provence
newspaper showed scattered black flecks across a mountain and several
larger airplane body sections with windows, five in one chunk and four
in another. French officials said a helicopter crew that landed briefly
in the area saw no signs of life.
“Everything is pulverized. The largest pieces
of debris are the size of a small car. No one can access the site from
the ground,” Gilbert Sauvan, president of the general council,
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, told The Associated Press.
Germanwings said Flight 9525 carried 144
passengers, including two babies, and six crew members. Officials
believe 67 German nationals were on board, including 16 high school
students on an exchange program from the German town of Haltern. Dutch
officials said one citizen was killed.
And apparently one Israeli according to the article linked above. His name, like the pilot's, has not yet been released.
At 0147:55, the relief first officer stated, "Look, here's the new first officer's pen. Give it to him please. God spare you,"9
and, at 0147:58, someone responded, "yeah." At 0148:03, the command
captain stated, "Excuse me, [nickname for relief first officer], while I
take a quick trip to the toilet...before it gets crowded. While they
are eating, and I'll be back to you." While the command captain was
speaking, the relief first officer responded, "Go ahead please," and the
CVR recorded the sound of an electric seat motor as the captain
maneuvered to leave his seat and the cockpit. At 0148:18.55, the CVR
recorded a sound similar to the cockpit door operating. At 0148:30, about 11 seconds after the captain left the cockpit, the CVR recorded an unintelligible comment.10 Ten seconds later (about 0148:40), the relief first officer stated quietly, "I rely on God."11
There were no sounds or events recorded by the flight recorders that
would indicate that an airplane anomaly or other unusual circumstance
preceded the relief first officer's statement, "I rely on God."
At
0149:18, the CVR recorded the sound of an electric seat motor. FDR data
indicated that, at 0149:45 (27 seconds later), the autopilot was
disconnected.12
Aside from the very slight movement of both elevators (the left
elevator moved from about a 0.7° to about a 0.5° nose-up deflection, and
the right elevator moved from about a 0.35° nose-up to about a 0.3°
nose-down deflection)13
and the airplane's corresponding slight nose-down pitch change, which
were recorded within the first second after autopilot disconnect, and a
very slow (0.5° per second) left roll rate, the airplane remained
essentially in level flight about FL 330 for about 8 seconds after the
autopilot was disconnected. At 0149:48, the relief first officer again
stated quietly, "I rely on God." At 0149:53, the throttle levers were
moved from their cruise power setting to idle, and, at 0149:54, the FDR
recorded an abrupt nose-down elevator movement and a very slight
movement of the inboard ailerons. Subsequently, the airplane began to
rapidly pitch nose down and descend.
Between 0149:57 and 0150:05, the relief first officer quietly repeated, "I rely on God," seven additional times.14 During this time, as a result of the nose-down elevator movement, the airplane's load factor15 decreased from about 1 to about 0.2 G.16
Between 0150:04 and 0150:05 (about 10 to 11 seconds after the initial
nose-down movement of the elevators), the FDR recorded additional,
slightly larger inboard aileron movements, and the elevators started
moving further in the nose-down direction. Immediately after the FDR
recorded the increased nose-down elevator movement, the CVR recorded the
sounds of the captain asking loudly (beginning at 0150:06), "What's
happening? What's happening?," as he returned to the cockpit.
The
airplane's load factor decreased further as a result of the increased
nose-down elevator deflection, reaching negative G loads (about -0.2 G)
between 0150:06 and 0150:07. During this time (and while the captain was
still speaking [at 0150:07]), the relief first officer stated for the
tenth time, "I rely on God." Additionally, the CVR transcript indicated
that beginning at 0150:07, the CVR recorded the "sound of numerous
thumps and clinks," which continued for about 15 seconds.
According
to the CVR and FDR data, at 0150:08, as the airplane exceeded its
maximum operating airspeed (0.86 Mach), a master warning alarm began to
sound. (The warning continued until the FDR and CVR stopped recording at
0150:36.64 and 0150:38.47, respectively.)17
Also at 0150:08, the relief first officer stated quietly for the
eleventh and final time, "I rely on God," and the captain repeated his
question, "What's happening?" At 0150:15, the captain again asked,
"What's happening, [relief first officer's first name]? What's
happening?" At this time, as the airplane was descending through about
27,300 feet msl, the FDR recorded both elevator surfaces beginning to
move in the nose-up direction. Shortly thereafter, the airplane's rate
of descent began to decrease.18
At 0150:21, about 6 seconds after the airplane's rate of descent began
to decrease, the left and right elevator surfaces began to move in
opposite directions; the left surface continued to move in the nose-up
direction, and the right surface reversed its motion and moved in the
nose-down direction.
The FDR data
indicated that the engine start lever switches for both engines moved
from the run to the cutoff position between 0150:21 and 0150:23.19
Between 0150:24 and 0150:27, the throttle levers moved from their idle
position to full throttle, the speedbrake handle moved to its fully
deployed position, and the left elevator surface moved from a 3º nose-up
to a 1º nose-up position, then back to a 3º nose-up position.20
During this time, the CVR recorded the captain asking, "What is this?
What is this? Did you shut the engine(s)?" Also, at 0150:26.55, the
captain stated, "Get away in the engines,"21 and, at 0150:28.85, the captain stated, "shut the engines." At 0150:29.66, the relief first officer stated, "It's shut." Between
0150:31 and 0150:37, the captain repeatedly stated, "Pull with me."
However, the FDR data indicated that the elevator surfaces remained in a
split condition (with the left surface commanding nose up and the right
surface commanding nose down) until the FDR and CVR stopped recording
at 0150:36.64 and 0150:38.47, respectively. (The last transponder
[secondary radar] return from the accident airplane was received at the
radar site at Nantucket, Massachusetts, at 0150:34.)22[Footnote links may not work. CiJ]
As
some of you may recall, after the NTSB investigation, the Egyptians
continued to deny that the co-pilot had committed suicide and would not
accept the NTSB report.
As the video reports, the pilots apparently turned the jet at the
perfect spot - at the point where the jet was handed off from Malaysian
to Vietnamese controllers. But if the Malaysian authorities found
anything in their homes, they're not saying.
The Malaysian government
had been looking for a reason to search the home of the pilot and the
co-pilot for several days. But it was only in the last 24 to 36 hours,
when radar and satellite data came to light, that authorities believed
they had sufficient reason to go through the residences, according to
the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The Malaysians don't do
this lightly," the official said. It's not clear whether the Malaysian
government believes one or both the men could be responsible for what
happened when the Boeing 777-200 ER disappeared March 8 en route from
Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The officials emphasize that they don't know yet what really happened to
the plane. But here's the best theory. To those of you who have been
following it should sound familiar. It's the southern corridor theory.
Flight 370 took off from
Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. on March 8. The last satellite communication
from the plane occurred at 8:11 a.m., Najib said, well past the
scheduled arrival time in Beijing.
That last communication,
Najib said, was in one of two possible traffic corridors shown on a map
released to the press. A northern arc stretches from the border of
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and a southern arc
spans from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
"Due to the type of
satellite data, we are unable to confirm the precise location of the
plane when it last made contact with the satellite," Najib said.
Because the northern
parts of the traffic corridor include some tightly guarded airspace over
India, Pakistan, and even some U.S. installations in Afghanistan, U.S.
authorities believe it more likely the aircraft crashed into waters
outside of the reach of radar south of India, a U.S. official told CNN.
If it had flown farther north, it's likely it would have been detected
by radar.
Nonetheless for the last
36 hours, the U.S. military and intelligence community has been
reviewing all satellite imagery and electronic data it collects from the
region for any sign of an explosion or crash, according to another U.S.
official directly familiar with that effort.
Najib said authorities were ending search operations in the South China Sea and reassessing the deployment of assets.
"This new satellite information has a significant impact on the nature and scope of the search operation," he said.
Investigators, he said,
have confirmed by looking at the raw satellite data that the plane in
question was the Malaysia Airlines jet.
The same conclusion was
reached by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. National
Transportation Safety Board, the British Air Accidents Investigation
Branch and the Malaysian authorities, all of whom were working
separately with the same data, he said.
Well, if it didn't crash it landed on some abandoned island somewhere in
the middle of the Indian Ocean and we'll hear a ransom demand sometime
soon. That appears unlikely. Given the level of satellite information
available today, it seems really unlikely that there would be an
airstrip in the middle of nowhere that could land a 777 that hasn't
shown up on the satellite data.
If you're wondering how they flew out of the corridor undetected, this might have had something to do with it.
Hours before Najib's
announcement, U.S. officials told CNN the flight had made drastic
changes in altitude and direction after disappearing from civilian
radar.
Malaysian military radar
showed the plane climbing to 45,000 feet -- which is above its approved
altitude limit -- soon after disappearing from civilian radar screens
and then dropping to 23,000 feet before climbing again, a U.S. official
familiar with the investigation said.
The jetliner was flying "a strange path," the official said on condition of anonymity. The details of the radar readings were first reported by The New York Times on Friday.
What's unsaid in all this is that Malaysia is - you guessed it - a Muslimcountry. As is Egypt.
Here's betting that the pilot is not Amish, Baptist, Catholic, Jewish.... Hmmm.
PS My travel agent talked me out of that flight a few months ago. She hates double connections.
Where's the outrage over US spying? CIA agents instructed how to avoid secondary screening at Ben Gurion
Wikileaks has released a CIA document entitled "CIA Assessment on Surviving Secondary Screening at Airports While Maintaining Cover." The document, which is dated September 2011, has instructions for CIA agents traveling on false identities on how to avoid secondary screenings at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.
"Secondary screening – a potentially lengthy and detailed look by
airport officials at passengers not passing initial scrutiny – can
significantly stress the identities of operational travelers," reads the
introduction. "Referral to secondary screening can occur if
irregularities or questions arise during any stage of airport processing
– immigration, customs, or security – and regardless of whether the
traveler is arriving, in transit, or departing. Officials may also
randomly select travelers."
...
The document details the reasons that could lead to security agents at
Ben-Gurion to refer a traveler to secondary screening. "A review of
clandestine reporting reveals examples of what various countries
consider to be suspicious," it is written.
"Israel’s security personnel focus on frequent travel to Islamic
countries," the document explains. "Security personnel at Ben Gurion
Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, commonly refer military-aged males
traveling alone with backpacks to secondary screening, regardless of
their nationality or skin color."
The document includes a detailed description of secondary checks at Ben-Gurion.
"At Ben Gurion airport in Israel, the secondary screening room contains
trace-detection equipment for explosive residue; tools for dismantling
passengers’ personal items for inspection, particularly items unfamiliar
to security officers; and a disrobing area, divided by privacy
curtains, to conduct strip searches of individuals, if necessary,"
according to the document.
The CIA's internal guide book also refers to an internal manual from
2004 published by International Consultants on Targeted Security, an
Israeli-founded company, which provides security advice to various
governments on matters such as profiling techniques. The manual
reportedly "lists suspicious signs in passenger behavior, documentation,
tickets, or baggage." The document adds, "Although dated, the ICTS
guidelines probably are typical and remain valid."
Now imagine what would happen if a Mossad manual were released that showed how to avoid being stopped at TSA checks in the US.... I know - it would be laughable.... But you can bet the Americans would be outraged.
This line is particularly telling:
"With the exception of Israel’s Ben Gurion airport and a few others,
immigration inspectors conducting primary screenings generally lack the
time and tools to conduct in-depth examination of travelers’ bona
fides," according to the document released by WikiLeaks.
Sounds to this frequent traveler like a great argument for implementing Israeli-style security everywhere....
If you're flying to the US from abroad, make sure your cell phone and laptop are charged
TSA, the people who made... let's skip that joke... will be inspecting laptops and cell phones on flights to the United States from selected, unnamed airports in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. If the laptops and cell phones aren't charged, you won't be able to bring them on the plane.
It is part of the agency's efforts to bolster airport security amid
suggestions of a plot by Islamic extremists to blow up an airliner.
The TSA said that passengers at certain international airports may be
asked during security screening to turn on their electronic devices,
such as mobile phones, tablet or laptop computers.
If they do not have power the devices will not be allowed on planes, said the agency.
The TSA will not specify which airports will be subject to the extra screening.
"As the traveling public knows," the TSA's written statement said, "all electronic devices are screened by security officers.
"During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones.
"Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. The traveler may also undergo additional screening."
US security officials said last week they fear bomb-makers from the
Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have worked out how
to turn phones into explosive devices which can avoid detection.
Why does this remind me of the water bottle thing? As long as the TSA continues to look for yesterday's terrorists, rather than implement real security measures (i.e. psychological profiling), the American traveling public and visitors from abroad will not be safe.
Way back in 2006, I wrote a critique of North American airline security in which I argued that it is looking for yesterday's terrorists and that the only way to do airline security is the Israeli way. I have written manysimilarpostssince, and have gotten numerous comments claiming that it cannot be done.
Now, there will be no choice. ISIS - the new terror group that's taking over Iraq - claims to have developed non-metallic bombs and is sending them to the United States with Syrians carrying US passports.
It's looking more and more like the Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared from the radar screens early Saturday morning exploded in mid-air.
"The fact that we are unable to find any
debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have
disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," said the source, who is involved
in the preliminary investigations in Malaysia.
If
the plane had plunged intact from such a height, breaking up only on
impact with the water, search teams would have expected to find a fairly
concentrated pattern of debris, said the source, speaking on condition
of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the
investigation.
The source was
speaking shortly before Vietnamese authorities said a military plane had
spotted an object at sea suspected to be part of the missing airliner.
Asked about the possibility of an explosion,
such as a bomb, the source said there was no evidence yet of foul play
and that the aircraft could have broken up due to mechanical issues.
Malaysian
authorities have said they are focused on finding the plane and have
declined to comment when asked about the investigations.
However,
the source said the closest parallels were the explosion on board an
Air India jetliner in 1985 when it was over the Atlantic Ocean and the
Lockerbie air disaster in 1988. Both planes were cruising at around
31,000 feet when bombs exploded on board.
On Sunday, they were comparing this plane to Air France 447, but in that case there was wreckage. Pan Am 103 had wreckage because it went down over land. Air India 182 took years to resolve. That's what this one sounds like.
TSA goes after columnist reading 'Jewish Press' as woman in niqab walks by
I actually got word of this the day it happened (Wednesday), but I didn't get to post it immediately because of work commitments, and then I let it slip.
Columnist Phyllis Chesler was stopped by TSA agents at JFK Airport on Wednesday for having a copy of The Jewish Press out in the open while going through security. While she was being questioned, a Muslim woman wearing a niqab (those bags through which only the eyes can be seen) walked through security unscathed.
My trip through Security at JFK this afternoon was slowed when one of
the agents spotted me holding a copy of the Jewish Press. He found it
suspicious, brought it to another agent, and they had a discussion. At
that point, my bags were opened and searched. Meanwhile, a woman in
niqab – a veil covering the entire face except the eyes -- walked
through without incident. I saw no one ask her to lift the veil to check
her actual identity against her documents.
Phyllis Chesler is... almost old enough to be my mother (sorry Phyllis!) and although she's opinionated, she definitely does not look like a terrorist.....
Great security here in America. Can't wait to fly again.....
An Israeli security expert on why the TSA is all wrong
I've been writing for years about how awful US (and European) airport security is and how much better and more effective the Israeli model is. Now here's a real expert on why the TSA... er... I try not to use those words in this blog. Anyway, here's Rafi Sela, former head of security at Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport with seven reasons why the TSA is so awful.
I went to meet with Joe Lieberman back when he was the chairman of the
Committee on Homeland Security. Lieberman asked me to write a one-page
letter to Congress and the Senate outlining America's major problems
with airport security. I told him the biggest issue was that the TSA is a regulatory agencyand
a security agency. They essentially make their own rules. No one else
-- not the FBI, not the CIA, not anyone but a loose-cannon New York cop
-- gets to do that.
Lieberman and a colleague of his named John Mica pushed an "opt-out" program for airports in the Aviation and Security Act. The problem was, the TSA needed to write standards and regulations
for this program, and they just weren't doing it. So I went to Kip
Hawley, head of the TSA, and said, "Look -- my company and I helped
write the regulations for the Israeli Security Agency at Ben Gurion
Airport. Let us help you."
And he said, "Ah no no no, we've got this all covered. It's just a matter of time."
I said, "Bullshit. You don't know shit about airport security."
Fast forward to today. After years of delay, the TSA is finally almost ready to start processing all those pending opt-out requests. After only a dozen years.
Ben Gurion is probably the most threatened airport in the world. It
has between 50 and 70 incidents every day. Nobody hears about those
because we handle them. And despite a constant daily grind full of
credible threats, we still drill the entire airport's security force seven times a day. No airport in the United States deals with regular daily threats -- yet they each drill only once or twice per year.
This is an even bigger problem when you think about the TSA's turnover problem.
I call the TSA the biggest train system in the world, because it's
common for much of the floor force to be replaced on a yearly basis. So
if the TSA only drills once or twice a year, you've got a ton of
screeners who go their entire (short) careers without ever being tested.
People need to realize that security can't be treated like a fast food
company. These people are tasked with finding bombs, not flipping
burgers.
...
About 99.9 percent of travelers are just that: travelers. They want to
get through security, buy a cup of coffee and some duty-free whiskey,
then quietly drink and leech Wi-Fi from the airport McDonald's. These
people pose no threat to anyone, and there's no point in even checking
them. The very few terrorists that exist are like needles in a haystack.
But the TSA's approach is to check every single piece of hay, in case it might actually be a needle.
But if you only check luggage and you don't check the person behind the
luggage, how do you know he hasn't camouflaged something into the
luggage that you can't find? Trust me: Hiding things is so easy to do,
it isn't even funny. That's why the only luggage checks we do are to
find things like aerosol cans, which might burst on their own.
Otherwise, what we care about is intent.
...
The TSA treats each traveler the same because of some stupid idea
that everything needs to be fair. Security needs to be done due to risk
-- and risk means that in Israel we don't check luggage, we check
people. And I'm not talking about racial profiling here; that's a
product of poor training. Regardless of race or creed, people with bombs
strapped to their body behave in similar ways. The TSA claims that finding IEDs at the checkpoint is their number one goal. But it's the people who mean us harm that we should look out for. Instead of checking intent, they check luggage.
And they don't even do it well: I have orthopedic insoles in my shoes
made from composite material. On the machines, that composite looks
identical to plastic explosives. I put them on the belt every time, and
no one -- NO ONE -- ever questions my shoes. Some security experts
suspect that the TSA has never once caught a terrorist at a checkpoint. And we know that at least 16 of them have flown into U.S. airports since 2004.
Meanwhile, Israel's airport security actually has stopped a bomb from getting on a plane using Israeli screening techniques. And what were those techniques?
...
We interview every single customer several times, but we don't really
care what you have to say. We're paying attention to your behavior.
Terrorism is a pretty nerve-wracking thing. That shoe bomber in 2001
failed because he literally sweated through his bomb.
Obviously, looking out for anxiety is going to net you some false
positives. Lots of people just hate flying. But it's easy to weed them
out from the men planning to commit mass murder.
At Ben Gurion Airport, we get travelers from their car to their gate
in 25 minutes. When was the last time that happened to you in an
American airport? Probably never, because a dozen 747s worth of cranky
travelers can't take their shoes and coats off, pull their laptops out
of their luggage, and queue up for pat downs without chaos.
...
Security should happen in rings,
so different teams can check each other's work and make sure no suicide
bombers slip through. All it takes is one baggage handler ogling a
passenger while she takes off her shoes and boom, Jeff the Terrorist
gets through security free and clear.
But thanks to the layout of modern American airports, he doesn't even have
to get through security. The TSA conveniently packs hundreds of
travelers together in cramped security lines.
Terrorists love crowds
because they can inflict the most harm that way. Anyone who watches the
news knows that. So what does American airport security do? It gathers
folks together in long lines BEFORE they've been scanned at all.
What really scares me when I'm in America is picking up my luggage. If
you've ever picked someone up from a flight, you know there's no sort of
scrutiny around who gets to walk in there. It's like the TSA thinks the
terrorists have some sort of death grudge against planes. So if we can keep them from getting on one, they won't bother murdering a bunch of people clustered around baggage claim.
Israeli expert to US airport security: Profile or die
In the aftermath of a shooting attack at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Friday, former head of security at El Al Isaac Yeffet said that the United States has to profile more at airports or it will suffer from more violent incidents. That made Yeffet's interviewer at MSNBC quite uncomfortable.
When was the last shooting incident in an Israeli airport, and when was the last one before Friday in LAX? When was the last hijacking from an Israeli airport and when was the last one in the United States?
By the way, in Israel, you have to go through security before you get within a mile of the terminal. The security guard opens the door of your taxi (or you roll down the window of your car) and they want you to say hello to them. That's enough for them to know whether you should be pulled over.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
