Student Who Breached Airport Security To Be Charged

Do you remember that young woman from California who put a threatening note somewhere on a cruise ship in Hawaii a few months ago? (She wanted to go be with her boyfriend). They gave her a jail sentence, if I recall. (can't find a link). If they're consistant, they will send him to jail.

fealola- I think that this student's act was qualitatively different. He informed officials of what and why he did what he did. In the case of the girl, he caused unnecessary anxiety, similar to shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre. I don't think that the two acts are comparable.

I'm not really sure, I'm looking forward to seeing different opinions. The law was broken, and they'll get him for the hours of man power wasted when they could have been doing something more productive. But on the other hand the irony is maybe exposing the holes in the system will produce better security in the long run.

You know what this reminds me of? The young precocious computer hackers who hack into top secret systems just for the game of it and are later hired by companies or the government as security experts!

I think he's a young idiot. What point did it serve to remind us how vulnerable we are when we fly and how easy it would be for terrorists to take over an aircraft?

I'm not saying he should be locked up and we throw away the key, but this exercise strikes me as the act of a young smart-ass. My only sympathy is based on the memory that I was one myself once...

D'artagnan- Exactly- It was arrogant, it was stupid. I would hate to think though, that a young life would be ruined because of an immature act. I am going to watch this case carefully. I am afraid that the government will want to throw the book at him, because he was the cause of great embarrassment.

IMO, he needs to get either a light sentence (maybe 30 days) and a fine. This would show him that he can't play fast and loose when it comes to security, but would not be ruinous to his life.

I voted for "other" and the punishment I would pick for him would be that he spend a year as a baggage handler/security screener, opening and searching tens of thousands of bags and documenting everything in them all the while with a supervisor barking orders over his shoulder.

He wants to pick at flaws? Fine. Let him also see the other side of the coin and when he has done so, perhaps come up with a workable solution.

There is never going to be a time when security is fool-proof anywhere so to create additional problems for those who are already trying to fill the holes we already have is wasting valuable resources that are best put to use actually doing these security checks.

Plus, did anyone ever think what would have happened had a situation arisen where a nut-job might have found the items and been encouraged to do something stupid with these weapons? Was the student in the custody of said items at ALL times? How would our smug little student have felt if, as a result of his mastery, a plane-full of people had been injured/killed? A very distant scenario I admit, but one that is within the realm of possibility. I liken it to leaving a gun on a train and then wondering why the hell a lunatic would pick it up and shoot passengers with it. "Oh well sir, I only wanted to make a statement about how inept your security is, so I smuggled it on the train and boo-hoo it slipped out of my newspaper onto the floor! My bad?"

This student should grow up - for each action there is a consequence - he didn't really think this through and I do believe he should be punished. If I were his parent I would kick his arse!

Leave it up to professionals to find the holes in the dam. If we allow every little snot-nosed know-it-all interfere with national security then we are right back at square one - vulnerable to any and every threat that's out there.

Mmm, methinks I need another coffee!

Heeven, Good points above.


I was thinking the same thing, Heeven! What if a real ("off-duty") terrorist had found the knives. Of course they would seize the opportunity!

It is always a slight possibility...........very slight.

Hmmm. Guess I feel a little differently. The most alarming thing to me was that what should have been a matter between airline security officials and this guy ended up all over the news. I couldn't figure out why they publicized this until the gf explained it: the airline(s) wanted to reassure their stockholders that the reason for the flight delays was not reason for them to jettison their holdings.

Was the kid arrogant? Sure. But it also makes the point to the airlines (at least I hope it does) that the money and time they're pouring into security (by which I mean, of course, the sense of security of the passengers, not their honest-to-god safety) is still being misallocated. This is the same tactic frequently employed by security agents themselves when they want to see if the system is working. If their objective is to prevent any potential weapon from getting on a plane -- which it appears to be, given my experiences at airports over the last couple of years -- they are not meeting that objective. And isn't the play-dough more alarming than the box cutters?

There is such thing as responsible vulnerability probing and irrensponsible probing.

Recently a group of security experts hacked a military server (low level intelligence, nothing secred) to show the military the holes in their system.

Charges were pressed.

Would anyone here like an involuntary probing of the security of their home? Or their computers?

He could have made his point in a controlled test. People employ others to probe vulnerabilities all the time. Malicious pranksters are forever claiming that their actions were benevolent. in the case of this kid maybe they were, but his stupidity was still an illegal stupidity.

Try this if you want the sour taste of the law in your mouth:

Buy drugs from a drug dealer.

Take it to the police to inform them of the dealer.

You will go to jail. This happened to a foolish old lady. Law can't judge intent very well. Extraordinarily stupid acts are sometimes punished even if the intent was good.

I'd have it no other way.

It is true that its illegal to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. However, if the theater is really on fire...

The kid broke a recently imposed law true, but in doing so he embarrased the Homeland Security Industry Inc. Id love to be the attorney that handles his case. ill bet that the HSI inc will try their damndest to settle this with very little fanfare, cuz theyre lookin like a bunch of real schmucks some 5 Billion dollars later.

I dont know, I think the kids a minor hero. Course, I dont think that Cubs fan in the sixth game with the Fish did anything wrong either.

It is true that its illegal to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. However, if the theater is really on fire...

The kid broke a recently imposed law true, but in doing so he embarrased the Homeland Security Industry Inc. Id love to be the attorney that handles his case. ill bet that the HSI inc will try their damndest to settle this with very little fanfare, cuz theyre lookin like a bunch of real schmucks some 5 Billion dollars later.

I dont know, I think the kids a minor hero. Course, I dont think that Cubs fan in the sixth game with the Fish did anything wrong either.

That Cubs WAS a hero, though not, I suspect, to his fellow Cub fans. Same for the dude in question here. I guess he is a hero, in a Bart Simpsonish sort of way...

Look, gummint and all those olks are forever telling us that this or that program is working, that they're really on the ball. Are we supposed to just take their word for it, or should they be put to the test from time to time? I've seen a lot of huffing and puffing over airport security, and to me it just looks like a big show designed to make us think we're being taken care of. If my chances of being blown up on a plane are the same now as they were before, I'd like to know it.

As far as the stashed items posing a threat -- look, anybody willing to hijack a plane with box-cutters is going to bring their own, not hope that providence provides them with one on the plane. And they're still giving out metal forks in first class, y'know. And the play-dough -- well, if you can make that explode, and do it with whatever you brought on the plane with you -- you're MacGyver.

there should be a punishment that fits the crime. he should be a speech writer , or terror color consultant for Tom Ridge for a term not to exceed 14 months

That it was an illegal act there is no doubt. However, what better way is there to test the security system than to see if it can be beat. To test the effectivity of the people charged with maintaining it and in addition point up holes in the system. Ofttimes people designing systems cannot see the forest for the trees. This admittedly should not be done on a ad hoc basis but by an arm of the homeland security dept charged with security. Or Hire a few college students for the task. They would probably do a more effective job than government employees.

What the news that he's been charged brought to mind was the American boast about "free enterprise." The guy was right, he was enterprising, and the system will (attempt to) grind him down.

He should replace Tom Ridge; Ridge should be fired for incompetence!

There are legal implications beyond the feel good folksy story. And they are far-reaching.