Thursday, January 18, 2007
Israel to Use 'Code' to Prevent 9/11 Attacks
Israelis are taking steps to prevent any 9/11-style attacks from perpetrators using aircraft.
A simple but technologically sophisticated ID system will guarantee that the man at the controls of aircraft is the pilot and not a suicide hijacker.
The "Code Positive" system uses a credit-card-sized device personally and exclusively issued to pilots that will enable them to identify themselves and assure security officials that they are in full control of their aircraft, according to Danny Shenar, who heads security at Israel's Transportation Ministry.
"Using this card, it will be possible to verify that the person flying the aircraft is indeed the person qualified to fly it," Shenar told Israel's Army Radio, according to Reuters.
"This system was developed to prevent aviation mega-terror over Israel, in the form of a plane coming through one of the borders and crashing into a target in Israel," he said. "The system should be operational by the end of the year."
Shenar added that it would be impossible for a hijacker to force a pilot to hand over identifying details, or otherwise pose as a legitimate member of the flight crew. "You can't bluff this system," he said.
An Israeli security official told Reuters that a deadline would be set for all airlines that travel to Israel to ensure their pilots had Code Positive.
"If they don't, their planes will not be allowed into our air space, and we will respond accordingly to any planes that don't turn back in time," the official said, referring to Israeli regulations allowing suspected enemy aircraft to be fired upon.
A U.S. government inquiry into the 9/11 attacks said ground radio overheard orders apparently given by hijackers to their captive passengers over aircraft public address systems, Reuters recalled.
Aviation security experts have speculated that the U.S. military might have responded to the threat more quickly were it not for delays such as in the time it took to determine that the voices were not those of the original pilots.
Israelis are taking steps to prevent any 9/11-style attacks from perpetrators using aircraft.
A simple but technologically sophisticated ID system will guarantee that the man at the controls of aircraft is the pilot and not a suicide hijacker.
The "Code Positive" system uses a credit-card-sized device personally and exclusively issued to pilots that will enable them to identify themselves and assure security officials that they are in full control of their aircraft, according to Danny Shenar, who heads security at Israel's Transportation Ministry.
"Using this card, it will be possible to verify that the person flying the aircraft is indeed the person qualified to fly it," Shenar told Israel's Army Radio, according to Reuters.
"This system was developed to prevent aviation mega-terror over Israel, in the form of a plane coming through one of the borders and crashing into a target in Israel," he said. "The system should be operational by the end of the year."
Shenar added that it would be impossible for a hijacker to force a pilot to hand over identifying details, or otherwise pose as a legitimate member of the flight crew. "You can't bluff this system," he said.
An Israeli security official told Reuters that a deadline would be set for all airlines that travel to Israel to ensure their pilots had Code Positive.
"If they don't, their planes will not be allowed into our air space, and we will respond accordingly to any planes that don't turn back in time," the official said, referring to Israeli regulations allowing suspected enemy aircraft to be fired upon.
A U.S. government inquiry into the 9/11 attacks said ground radio overheard orders apparently given by hijackers to their captive passengers over aircraft public address systems, Reuters recalled.
Aviation security experts have speculated that the U.S. military might have responded to the threat more quickly were it not for delays such as in the time it took to determine that the voices were not those of the original pilots.
