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If you're in the military you can drive a van onto a runway. At least at Sea-Tac.
Last week in Seattle, retired Army lieutenant colonel Greg Alderete drove a van onto a runway tarmac at Sea-Tac airport. Alderete was supposed to be on the runway -- he was picking up a general flying in from Portland -- but what shocked him was that no one stopped to ask his name, check his ID, or search his vehicle. And you can't make the excuse that he was dressed as a military officer; Alderete was in civilian clothes. "We were sitting there, the engine idling, nobody around, when all of a sudden I realized: We're out on the goddamn runway," Alderete said. No inspection, no attention, and no screening made Alderete feel like there was a definite problem with the airport's security, "with a van full of weapons we could have shut down the entire aviation system."
Granted the colonel was picking up the general in the corporate jet area, where businessmen and government officials fly in and out of, but still, it makes you wonder just how tight airport security really is.
That was one crazy runway story. Check out these crazy airplane stories!
[Story via Boing Boing; image courtesy frischmilch]
Filed under: North America, United States, Airports, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Not The Only One... May 22nd 2008 2:31PM
Back in 1994 during a vacation in Virginia Beach, my family and I decided to visit a military base. (Each day we watched the huge cargo planes and jets fly over the beach and hotel...we asked around and were told about the base.) My son was 8years old at the time and he enjoyed seeing them so we wanted to give him a closer look. We drove right onto the base, didn't even get stopped at the entry. It wasn't until we were finished shopping at their stores and heading back to the parking lot were we stopped...and told we weren't supposed to be there. Good thing we were just tourists!
Robert Laurie May 22nd 2008 3:18PM
There are times when every tradgedy in the world gets forgotten over time.Now that almost seven years have passed since 9-11, I firmly believe that we are getting lax.I hope I`m wrong.
BRUCE May 22nd 2008 3:37PM
SERIOUSLY, YOU THOUGHT TSA, OR THE GOVERNMENT WAS GOING TO PROTECT YOU? THEY ARE THERE TO HASSLE YOU, CONFISCATE YOUR SHAMPOO, AND CHECK OUT YOUR DIRTY UNDERWEAR.
ENJOY YOUR FLIGHT.
Mark May 22nd 2008 4:20PM
We just had the same sort of thing happen here at STL. A homeless guy walks through a vehicle checkpoint, strolls across the tarmac, finds a regional jet that's unlocked, gets in and goes to sleep. The cleaning crew found him in the morning.
Wake up folks, Homeland Security, TSA, and all of the others are not able to prevent anything! If someone wants to commit a terrorist act, they will. All our government is able to do is give you a false sense of security by forcing law abiding citizens to jump through hoops and inconvenience us.
And if the "terrorists" are still upset with us, why haven't there been any further "attacks"?
Greg Marino May 22nd 2008 4:23PM
Would have like aforementioned general tried that at MCO. The airport authority has got the biggests "you know what" than any other civilian airport I've seen...as an "under-the-wing-worker." Military or not Sir General, you'd been a nickel short of "stripped searched" than been allowed to "splain" what the heck you were up to.
And we thought the golden retriever sized raccoons and TSA were a problem at MCO!
Greg
DENNIS I. May 22nd 2008 5:44PM
Do you feel safer 7 years after 9/11?
If Homeland Gestapo was doing it's job instead of snooping in my phone records, this MIGHT not have happened.
Jane May 22nd 2008 6:44PM
I hate it when that happens!