9/11 Security Update: Pre 9/11 Briefing by USAPA (US Airline Pilots Association) Security Chairman Steve Sevier and Committee Member Pat O'Laughlin:
Bringing down an airliner continues to be the Gold Standard of terrorism. If anyone thinks that our enemies have “been there, done that” and are not targeting US commercial aviation -- think again.
There have been several cases recently throughout the industry of what appear to be probes, or dry-runs, to test our procedures and reaction to an inflight threat. A typical example is an incident that occurred just a few days ago one of our flights from DCA-MCO.
A group of Middle-Eastern males boarded in DCA. Shortly after takeoff, one got up and ran from his seat in coach towards the flight deck door. He made a hard left and entered the forward lav, where he stayed for a considerable length of time! While he was in there, the others got up and proceeded to move about the cabin, changing seats, opening overhead bins, and generally making a scene. They appeared to be trying to occupy and distract the flight attendants.