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The US passenger plane cargo bomb loophole

Von Helman | 19.11.2010 20:40 | Other Press | Terror War

The weak link in passenger air travel and air cargo on such flights


With the recent outcry of the TSA security screening the question arises, are passengers on commercial flights really any safer with such intrusive methods of security and many inside experts say no.

When airline security experts are saying no, a red flag should been seen by many far and wide but it’s incredible that such a red flag goes unnoticed.

Experts are saying that there are still security loopholes so the question arises why are such loopholes still open that allow the back door to remain wide open while passengers are being stripped searched, molested, and having their applesauce taken from them.

The TSA had mandated by August 1, 2010 that 100% screening of all cargo aboard passenger aircraft was to be required and implemented however that hasn’t come to pass.

The TSA announced through a press conference article on August 2, 2010 which can be seen here  http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2010/0802.shtm that currently 100% of “high risk” passenger cargo is now screened for explosives but that still leaves the low risk cargo completely unchecked.

What cargo is left uncheck and why it remains uncheck can be somewhat of a mystery to some but one security expert speaking on condition of anonymity said that getting a bomb onto a passenger plane is not that difficult if one really wanted to and explained just one of many loopholes he personally knows of.

This loophole comes in the form of “Known Shippers” who regularly send cargo on passenger planes and that cargo is often not screened since the sender is known thus saving a great deal of time and money however some “Known Shippers” themselves face high risk security exploitation without even knowing it.

One such area is shipping human remains. For years Airlines have required a special shipping container for caskets that contain human remains from funeral homes or mortuaries and these cargo containers are assembled and secured with the casket inside their mortuary business premises before ever arriving to the cargo shipping area of the passenger carriers’ cargo division.

These “shipping containers” are so often used that most funeral homes and mortuaries keep them on hand. They are rather simple in construction with a plywood base.

Caskets are often heavy and constructed of varying gauges of metal but often never screened for explosives because they are being shipped by “Known Shippers” and are already sealed in the above shipping containers.


I mean who would want to search a casket with a deceased body inside not to mention often times cargo areas don’t have the specially required casket key on hand to unlock a casket so these shipping containers are routinely placed on passenger planes completely unscreened. They don’t even use cargo planes for human remains but regular passenger flights.

The loophole here is that anyone claiming a certain religious doctrine can actually have their religious practices respected in which they are given the right to “dress” a deceased member of their religion, meaning that they are allowed to prepare the body for burial and place the remains in a casket through a closed and private ritual.

At this time anything else including explosives can be added to the casket or even a wax dummy that is itself noting but a large form of C4 on a timer. Then through the “Known Shipper” the bomb is then sent to the cargo area and loaded on the passenger plane without ever being screened.

If this loophole is exploited all the TSA security measures with passengers on the flight deck are then rendered completely worthless.

When asked why this particular loophole remains open, the security expert I spoke to said that this is just one of many loopholes which are still wide open waiting to be exploited.

There has to be some method to the government’s madness but these loopholes should infuriate passengers that are getting a cavity search that is more thorough than an autopsy when a dead man can get on a plane completely unscreened.

Editorial by Von Helman
Staff Writer SHTF411.com

 http://shtf411.com/the-us-passenger-plane-cargo-bomb-loophole-t10805.html

Von Helman
- Homepage: http://www.shtf411.com

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