Security and its guardians
Some of my gentle readers well remember the times when airports were still places to visit, without barbed wire and armed guards patrolling around. Try to tell the children who are allowed to watch from behind thick glass windows, how you spent countless hours sitting on the grass in the shadow of these huge wings, from time to time even having the opportunity to talk with pilots ... Nowadays all kinds of crazy people seem to be There are all sorts of crazy reasons to attack airports and airplanes with predictable consequences. Aviation is fighting for the best that it can, and therefore your freedom of movement is limited (which goes beyond what would be normal from an operational point of view), they search for you while they are X-ray bags, armored cars are hidden behind fuel browsers and there are soldiers in full combat dress, armed to the teeth, overlooking the ticket counters. Where does this world go?
The life of people responsible for airport security is far from easy. The fact of countless terrorist acts committed for countless years without any lasting victory for everyone is clearly not enough to stop these psychos, and this in itself shows how crazy the enemy aviation security specialists are facing. One of them once heard that he was condemning the good old days, when a strange guy trying to blow up his beloved mother-in-law was the most dangerous opponent ...
Security measures tend to differ from airport to airport, and often there are a number of organizations responsible for different operational areas. Screening passengers and baggage, guarding the perimeter fence, patrolling the departure lounge or transit area all fall under the general security heading at the airport, providing colorful local arrangements.
Although security is a serious matter, even there may be the craziest things, even without the good services of some obscure freedom of the “army”. The trouble is that, by definition, security people must act not only when something happens, but also if they suspect that something is going to happen or something can happen. Air traffic control is rarely directly involved, mainly because the terrorists have not yet realized the chaos that they could create by closing a busy control center. But captured flights or field security operations disrupt the normal operation of the ATC, so there are legitimate claims in the following stories to include here. Keep in mind, the stories told here have had decades before September 11 ...
Armed and careless ...
At this airport, the perimeter security guards were always in rather low respect, as a result of several funny characters who managed to crawl through the screening procedure, as a result of which they became more threatened for their pistol pistols to each other than to anyone who tries to jump the fence from the outside. To this was added a problem with drinking, and one day it caused one of them to fall asleep on the hot plate turned on, giving some unusual work to the fire brigade ... Overall, though, they did a pretty good job to keep us in safety.
These perimeter guards had their own radio network, and since their wards and exits were not the focus of attention of the tower. Since they could also tune into the frequency of the ground control of the tower, it was assumed that they would call when the circumstances were justified. However, there was no such call when the dispatchers heard a distant shot on this dark Saturday night.
The sounds seemed to come quite far away, although it is clear from the airports themselves. The leadership of the “Tower” could offer little with advice on what should be done if local shooting broke out. If the controllers knew that the guards were shooting at each other, their confusion would undoubtedly increase. However, they did the only sensible thing, stopping all movements both on the ground and in the air, while at the same time knowing the airport dispatcher for further instructions. This general condition of theft continued for most of the hour, at the end of which one deadly, one seriously wounded and terribly shocked guard was brought in from one of the most distant guard posts along with a jeep that appeared to have some bullet holes in the metal. Normal operations resumed as soon as a thorough search revealed that there were no terrorists and extraterrestrial beings.
As one would expect from a responsible guard force, a thorough investigation followed, which at first revealed many conflicting facts. Everyone seemed eager to protect their ass, but gradually, gradually, the truth appeared. Although it is hard to believe, this is what happened.
In the usual time of the change of guards, these two of them set off in their jeep to drive four odd kilometers to the other end of the field in order to link the sentry at the farthest distance from the hour pillars. Despite the fact that the paved service road ran around the perimeter fence, the jeep should have stopped a few hundred meters from the sentry post, and this last place on the roads was dictated by "strategic" considerations. Although the guard on duty was informed through his radio that his assistant was on the way, on a dark moonless night all he could see was a car stopping on the road, with a figure rising and going towards it. So far this has been seen by his spectacle in countless cases. What he could not see was the driver, who also illustrated on the other side of the vehicle to follow the call of nature ... It shouldn’t have been unusual if his engine gun safety lever had not been left in the "Fire". When the weapon collapsed on the side of the jeep, he instantly shot into a bunch of humpback slugs, no doubt, saved hell from its owner, with his pants down ...
The remaining two hours took only a few seconds to fight with vicious weapons, which were stopped only because of the insane cries of the driver, who by the time was hiding behind the intended protection of his car. You already know the rest.
Caught in a jet wash
To be hacked in nature, bad enough to get blown away from a jet engine explosion even worse. And this is exactly what happened to one of the unfortunate guardian angels. He was assigned to a post office located outside the innermost obstacle zone at the edge of the runway, and it was very noisy, although it was a spectacular view of the aircraft taking off. The guards stationed here, like ordinary enthusiasts, could never get tired of seeing tons of metal rushing along the runway to finally climb into the blue sky.
On this fateful day, the guard on duty could watch for the tenth time when the engine of the local airline’s double engine came low and slow, its wheels touched the concrete for only a few seconds to speed up again for another traffic round. It was a typical training flight, and, as it happened, they were all traffic that day. Touch-and-go, then low pass, one more touch and forward, and so on, until it is time for fuel.
The sleek jet was again in the short finals to refuel when the trainee pilot got mad and announced to the instructor his intention to make a low pass instead of landing. In his opinion, only the first could be safely performed from this position of the aircraft. Now the instructors must be pretty cool people that they don’t pay too much to hasty decisions. However, this guy seems to have decided to give a real lesson to his accusation, setting a record immediately and permanently about what can and cannot be done. Without making his intentions completely clear, he took over the planes, putting the wheels on the concrete a few seconds later. It was a minor side effect, which they touched too high, and it soon became quite clear that no braking and reverse thrust could stop the plane before it turned the end of the runway. Why they did not try to do it by touch, never became completely clear.
The guard must have come to the same conclusion that, undoubtedly, torn between the desire to run and thus save his life, and his order to never leave his post, he switched his radio to the Tower network, hacking the frequency without paying attention to everyone else, shouting shrill: “The tower, the tower, here is the plane, the tower, it will hit me, it comes off the runway, it ... Oh, thank you, god!” This last exclamation meant some success on the part of the crew in slowing down their cars, and finally stopped on the grass in a bit kih dozen meters from the guard hut. Now they are facing each other, a big bird with very purring engines and a guard, still shaking from head to toe.
Some miracle the plane missed all the lights of the runway and other minor obstacles in its path, and the crew, fully aware that he was sitting in a hardy Russian design, who did not think about rolling on the grass, decided to just climb the runway . Before the controllers in the tower had a chance to intervene or actually realized what had happened, the big engines roared before life, and the silver bird began to steer, picking up dirt and loose pieces of grass behind it when the crew turned it around in a wide arc.
This time the screams of the poor guards completely drowned out in noise. His engine pistol and portable radio were the first to be blown up when he hung it in the hut with both hands. Once, however, the jets lined up directly and precisely with the hut, and the guards and huts were torn down, like many matches. The hut turned out to be a complete write-off, the guard miraculously escaped with a broken arm, while the plane worked with a complete cleaning of its chassis. Oh, yes, the training captain spent the next few months fishing, and his license expired ...
Creepy bags
The security officers are closer to home, that is, people who deal directly with passengers and their luggage also have their share of problems. If you fly regularly or only from time to time, you should have experienced this ridiculous feeling that may descend on the uninitiated, when at check-in you drop your precious baggage at the mercy of your favorite airline. I can never escape being surprised if I ever see my loyal Samsonite ...
Baggage sorting after check-in is an art in itself, a world of ringing conveyors, computerized or just plain human sensors, and even specially trained dogs at some airports, sniffing your bags, looking for drugs or worse. Fortunately, few passengers get to this ground-based aviation scam.
In any case, the bags usually end in a nice little train of carts for possible transportation to your (or the next guy ...) plane. However, if your suit gets scared, you can be sure that it will never get on board any aircraft. When one of our handlers picked up that suspicious sound from a rather old-fashioned leather case, he immediately alerted the experts, who carefully removed the bag from a mountain of other bags, carefully placing it in the steel dozer sponges. Currently, most airports have a location, commonly referred to as “isolated parking”, usually used for aircraft suspected of immediate explosion hazard. The hapless bulldozer driver was instructed to take a noisy bag into our version of the isolated parking so that security experts could see it more closely. The flight on which the package for the ride was delivered was held at that time.
So, it was a rather ordinary, albeit battered, old bag sitting in the middle of a concrete space designed to take a plane the size of a Boeing 707, happily humming. There are many things you can do with a suspected bomb, for example, blow it up with another charge or just wait until she decides to blow her own will. But a buzzing leather suitcase? It looked so innocent. After long debates, the experts decided to try and open it, like you or me. To pick up the locks, they were light enough, and in no time the lid was released. Now the buzz could be heard much more clearly, and the search continued with due attention. The owner of the costume was supposed to be a very neat person, a person judging from the first layer of carefully designed suits and shirts, and a packing expert. So, from the suits and shirts, and then the next layer of neatly folded underwear and voila! Underneath it all, in a beautiful little nest made of socks and bags, a small razor for batteries, a source of ominous noise ...
The corresponding flight went a few hours later, but not before the owner of the razor received a detailed lecture on how he should remove the batteries from his car the next time he goes on the air. Of course, there is no way for the bag to be handled this way today. These were beautiful, innocent days ...
Your dinner and knives sir!
As a result of numerous Ugrian airlines, the airlines showed a certain dislike for the objects, even remotely suitable for the threat to the crew. So weapons, knives, hand grenades, etc. It’s best to rent in baggage that you intend to check (make sure they don’t begin to hum ...) and never in your purses. If you do not want to part with your treasures, it is best to freely confess to the registration agent, who will put your “hands” in a plastic bag, giving you a receipt, and you can request everything back after arrival. It is much better to act than to be embarrassed at the security check, when the guy with the metal detector pulls his pocket penknife out of his pocket ... That some less secure security airlines managed to make a joke of this, otherwise perfectly reasonable, the precaution in the past is quite illustrated by the following.
The team of world-famous chefs were on their way to a big culinary agreement, and it was only natural that these artists in the kitchen would want to carry their own carving knives with them. As hand luggage is required. They were not recognized types, so just before the security check, before landing, the contents of their elegant handbags were disclosed. Their internationally recognized status saved from cooks from being dropped from flights, but the gate agent categorically refused to allow them to carry knives in the passenger compartment. The decision came in the form of a quick inventory of "weapons", and while other passengers looked with amazed eyes, all the steel was loaded into a plastic bag, sealed and put on a stew (!) For storage.
Of course, the storage of such bags is safely blocked in the air, and then providing them with a gate agent for distribution to their owners at the arrival point means added work to already overloaded crews who, either safe or not, are not very pleased with such additional duties. The stew on these particular flights should have been unappealing, because the captain hardly turned off the “fasten seat belt” sign when one of the girls entered the passenger cabin with a bag with knives, dropping it in the nearest chef’s lap, asking him innocently , if he wants to distribute them from their rightful owners. Now the rest of the passengers had a second chance to watch, while the bag of steel slowly sailed around the cabin ...
Live round and dummy-hand grenade
A family of four was on the last leg of their trip by plane and to the United States, and they were ready to check in for KLM 602 flight from Los Angeles to Amsterdam. Their luggage is not particularly interesting, with the exception of one bag with a dummy and a grenade 20 mm from the side gun A-10. These items were purchased at a San Francisco military dump, and they were the cherished property of two boys who consulted about buying them as a supplement to their collection of military "things."
Boys, Dad had no problems with the hand grenade, which clearly missed the trigger and everything else inside the shell. Another question is the 20mm round. Although he typed the words "Dummy" several times, it was an ugly bastard, not any company he loved. Но суровый человек в магазине свалков успокоил меня, что он совершенно безопасен, манекен, поэтому нет оснований отрицать этот маленький подарок от детей. Он поверил ему ...
Заезд на стол KML в LAX был сделан действительно хорошим блондинком, который также был действительно голландцем, судя по ее акценту. Она перестала быть красивой, хотя папа сообщил ей, что у них есть сумка с вещами, о которых она должна знать. Затем он достал манекенную ручную гранату и 20 мм из сумки и положил ее на стол. Бедная вещь стала еще более белой, чем она была раньше, и схватила свой телефон с просьбой о супервизоре, добавив также кодовый номер ...
Затем у семьи была возможность испытать, насколько хорошо организован аэропорт Лос-Анджелеса, когда дело доходит до ручных гранат, манекенов и т. Д. На стойке регистрации. Менее чем через минуту они были окружены четырьмя парнями из обычной одежды, которые, очевидно, имели в виду бизнес, но были также осторожны, чтобы не пугать других пассажиров. В то время как трое из них держали семью на месте, и никто ее не замечал, третий смотрел на вещи на столе ... Его широкая улыбка была первым признаком того факта, что семья может пережить эту невероятную глупость, не тратя время на средство Супермакса. Ха собрал оскорбительные предметы, положил их обратно в сумку и сказал девушке удержать посадочные талоны, а затем вел их и остальных трех офицеров на скамейку у входа. Он попросил папа рассказать ему свою историю, запомнил адрес военной свалки в Сан-Франциско и, наконец, сказал, что у него тоже есть сын, который собирал такие вещи, поэтому он понял. Он сказал, что владелец свалки был в беде, потому что 20-миллиметровый раунд действительно был манекеном, насколько это касается самой пули. Но раковина была заполнена взрывчаткой, она могла бы выстрелить простым нажатием на ее конец!
Затем он взял раунд и пошел к одной из рентгеновских машин. Девочка, работающая на машине, почти упала в обморок, когда увидела, что неравномерный парень подходит с круглым (и поверьте мне, эти 20-миллиметровые дети большие и невозможно пропустить то, что они есть). Наш друг быстро создал значок, который успокоил девушку. Он положил круглую вертикально на рентгеновский аппарат ... рукой, конечно, остановив конвейер. Изображение на мониторе было кристально чистым. Под заостренной пулей цвет изображения был безошибочным. Этот цвет был зарезервирован машиной только для одного: взрывчатого вещества!
Тот факт, что семья сообщила о пунктах при регистрации и совершенно достоверную историю о детях, желающих этих вещей, означала, что проблем больше нет, им разрешалось переходить к воротам. Но ручная граната и 20 мм должны были остаться, конечно. Почти мама и папа были в восторге от радости, так как история могла иметь гораздо более уродливый вывод, если бы они купили дом на 20 мм. Как бы то ни было, они действительно изучили важный урок в том, как далеко должны учитываться пожелания детей.
Но теперь у них также есть уникальный предмет, находящийся в их распоряжении, «Кассовое поручение за сохранность или изъятое имущество», в котором отмечается, что правительство США сохранила манекенную ручную гранату и живой 20-миллиметровый раунд, оба в «хорошем» состоянии. ..
Это было за шесть лет до 11 сентября. Сегодня история может быть совсем другой ...
Если вы задавались вопросом о судьбе военной свалки на Маркет-стрит ... ее больше нет.
