World: What To Do About the Skyjackers?

WITH renewed urgency, governments and airlines the world over sought last week to improve and refine their techniques for thwarting skyjacking. The most drastic method of protecting aircraft involves the use of armed guards. Until now, governments, airlines and pilots’ associations have all generally objected to such guards on planes because they fear the consequences of a gun fight or explosion in midair. But contrary to popular myth, a pressurized cabin will not explode if punctured by one bullet or even by several; it will simply develop a slow leak. More important is the danger that passengers or crew could be shot, as well as the possibility that a stray bullet could sever hydraulic lines or other vital controls and cause the plane to crash. Last week, however, President Nixon’s proposal to put sky marshals on U.S. planes received the support of Najeeb Halaby, president of Pan American World Airways, and the U.S. Air Line Pilots Association. ∙One nation that has been willing to risk gun fights in mid-air is Israel. Its El Al airline has probably developed the most comprehensive antihijacking system in existence. Although the Israelis refuse to reveal all details, it is known that all passengers are carefully scrutinized before boarding, and all baggage is probably Xrayed. Since skyjackers forced an El Al plane to Algiers in 1968, all El Al planes have carried two to four plainclothes security men. The armed guards, who refer to themselves as the “007 Squad,” are generally muscular young men, often ex-paratroopers, trained in karate. Superb marksmen, they are armed with low-velocity pistols, which are powerful enough to kill but unlikely to puncture the fuselage. It was these guards who overpowered two would-be hijackers in one of last week’s attempts, killing one.

El Al planes have been strengthened on the inside to withstand grenade explosions. The cockpit is kept locked at all times, and the pilot and copilot can observe the passengers on closed-circuit television. Lavatories are inspected for time bombs each time a passenger has used them, and some planes are equipped to pump tear gas through the ventilation system to incapacitate hijackers —and passengers as well. In such an event, the crew would put on gas masks.

The Israelis’ system of airborne guards has been adopted by Ethiopian Airlines, which has also been plagued by hijackers. But the Ethiopians have improvised as they went along. Earlier this year, Ethiopian guards overpowered two would-be hijackers aboard a Boeing and strapped them into seats in the nearly empty first-class compartment. After carefully wrapping the skyjackers’ necks in towels to avoid bloodying the aircraft, the guards calmly cut their throats.

Apart from relying on the guards, at present there is little a pilot can do but turn on his radar beacon to inform ground control that he is in trouble. However, the Federal Aviation Administration said last week that it had developed a new secret hijacking deterrent to be installed on all new airliners and eventually on all planes. Another suggestion, reported by The Times of London, is that security guards could shoot anaesthetic bullets “as used for rhinoceros, etc.”

Experts agree that the best place to deter skyjacking is on the ground, before the airplane takes off. Toward that end, U.S. airlines and the Federal Government have already invested much time and money in developing improved security measures. So far, the most effective method is the magnetometer, which has been in use since last October at selected U.S. airports by Pan American, TWA, Eastern and National airlines. It is a $600 electronic metal-sensing device that generally employs a pair of simple metal poles installed at airport ticket counters and boarding gates. As passengers pass between the poles, electronic sensors scan them for metal objects such as guns or knives. When they detect a piece of metal, the sensors send an impulse to a control panel out of sight near by where a flashing light or jumping needle alerts airline security agents.

Another development is a highly confidential “hijacker’s behavioral profile,” which was worked out two years ago by the FAA. It is used as a guide at airline check-in counters and by ground personnel to spot potential skyjackers. The profile includes a number of signs and giveaways common to the behavior and appearance of previous hijackers.

∙The magnetometer and profile are given much credit for helping to reduce the number of U.S. airplanes hijacked from 33 last year to 13 in the past eleven months. No one knows exactly how many potential hijackers have been deterred, but more than 40 suspicious persons have been turned over to federal marshals at Kennedy and La-Guardia airports since June. “We even caught a woman hijacker who turned out to be a man,” says FAA Administrator John Shaffer. But the system can delay boarding, and the magnetometer can be set off by common objects like keys and cameras. Also, there are not enough of the sensing devices to cover all airport boarding gates. The profile has limitations, too, partly because it was designed to spot the potential skyjacker to Cuba, who is usually an unstable person. The person who wants a free ride to Fidel is a far different type from the dedicated and well-trained Arab terrorist.