Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Security Administration and American Eagle share the same security goals. The airline is a valued partner and has an excellent overall record for security practices. TSA and American Eagle are working together to achieve the right security results and resolve any security gaps that have occurred.
Kip Hawley,
Administrator
Peter Bowler,
CEO American Eagle
A supervisory transportation security officer at Port Columbus (Ohio) International Airport did not hesitate to help a neighbor endangered by two men who broke into her house and were stealing handguns.
Stuart Cottrill was at home when his neighbor, Rhonda Cook, was called by her burglar alarm service, warning that an alarm had gone off in her home. She was at a local pool chaperoning her and Cottrill's daughters. As they rushed home, Cook's daughter called Cottrill just before they arrived home.
Recognizing the value of stakeholder and passenger relations is one of the cornerstones of TSA. A recent visit to TSA’s operations at Los Angeles International Airport by a representative from the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) provided an opportunity for open dialogue and a better understanding.
Starting Aug. 16, 2008 TSA began to allow laptops to remain in bags meeting "checkpoint friendly" guidelines. Not all laptop bags are "checkpoint friendly" (see images below).
A man wanted for federal immigration violations attempted to board a flight with fraudulent ID and was intercepted at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky., by Transportation Security Officer Kimberly Pike after she recognized that the state card he presented was not valid.
Pike, who was checking travel documents, notified Acting Supervisory TSO Karen Hedberg, who contacted law enforcement.
On her way home from work recently, Transportation Security Officer Julie Marzioni of Orlando Sanford (Fla.) International Airport made a quick decision that may well have saved the life of a 12-year-old boy.
Driving through a residential neighborhood, Marzioni came across several young men of high school age who had surrounded the boy and beat him in the street. Without hesitating and without regard for her own safety, Marzioni stopped her car to save the boy, who was on the ground covered in blood from being punched and kicked.
The actions of TSA's behavior detection officers (BDOs) on Aug. 4 led to four arrests and one detention in 24 hours.
At Oakland (Calif.) International Airport, a passenger's suspicious behavior caught the attention of a BDO who referred the passenger for secondary screening. There, transportation security officers found what was later confirmed to be heroin. The passenger was arrested for possession by local law enforcement.
Through a program called WebEOC, TSA collects information about incidents at airport checkpoints. It is used to identify data points of significant security value.
The ability to identify patterns and "connect the dots" on certain incidents cannot be underestimated. In the post 9/11 world such analysis is key to protecting the American public. It was also a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission.
