We were both amused and disturbed to learn recently from Flight Wisdom of a recent incident at Logan Airport in Boston. It seems that as part of a security drill, 8 ounces of potent plastic explosive were attatched to the bumper of a vehicle in a secure parking area. Over a week later the explosives have still not been found. During the test, a Massport employee, unaware of the drill, got into the vehicle and drove off. Nearly 10 minutes later, and a mile and a half away, the truck was found, sans explosive. Despite exhaustive searches of the airport propeincluding the dismantling of a street sweeper, the explosive remain missing. State Police assure us that without a detanator the explosives pose little threat.
We wonder: If explosives can disappear without a trace so easily during a controlled situation, how can we trust security to detect explosives carried by a dedicated attacker?