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Man Walks Past Security Screening Staring At iPad, Causing Airport Evacuation

Posted by samzenpus on from the paying-attention dept.

First time accepted submitter chentiangemalc writes While Australia is on "high alert" for terror threats a man walked past a Sydney Airport security screening while engrossed in his iPad and delayed flights for an hour. From the article: "This event was captured on CCTV and unnerved officials so much that they evacuated passengers. As the Sydney Morning Herald reported, the man found himself (or, perhaps, didn't) going into the terminal through an exit passage that clearly was convenient for him, but less convenient for the hordes of passengers who not only had to be removed from Terminal 3, but also re-screened. A spokeswoman for Qantas told the Morning Herald: 'The man disembarked a flight and left. It appears he wasn't paying attention, was looking at his iPad, forgot something and walked back past (the security area).'"

22 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Walked past Security Theatre by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm so glad that so many people were able to participate in the extended season of Security Theatre. Too bad the iPad patron missed out. Well, at least at first...

    1. Re:Walked past Security Theatre by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And nice to know we are holding back the terrorists with a security force that can not stop people known to walk into walls, poles, and fountains...

  2. No he didn't by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Insightful

    " a man walked past a Sydney Airport security screening while engrossed in his iPad and delayed flights for an hour."

    TFA implies he caused the delay, when in fact incompetent airport security staff caused the delay.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    1. Re:No he didn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Apparently the only thing you have to do to get past ultra tight airport security is not pay attention to almost anything whatsoever.

    2. Re:No he didn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This just in: thoughtless (i.e. stupid) policies are shockingly expensive and annoying. Film at 11.

    3. Re:No he didn't by Jeremi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      TFA implies he caused the delay, when in fact incompetent airport security staff caused the delay.

      I'll go you one further, and suggest that inadequate airport design caused the delay.

      In particular, hiring a human being to stare at a hallway for 8 hours a day to make sure nobody walks this way instead of that way is not a good design. People -- even well-trained, competent people, with the best intentions -- are notoriously bad at doing mind-numbingly tedious tasks like this for hours at a time.

      Machines, on the other hand, could be employed to do the same job more effectively and reliably. It doesn't even need to be particularly high-tech: a simple one-way turnstile (perhaps augmented with a video camera to sound an alarm if the turnstile is tampered with or somehow bypassed) would do a more reliable job, and as a side benefit would not need to be paid a salary.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    4. Re:No he didn't by lgw · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Ahh, the "we just need to educate our users" school of engineering. That always ends well.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    5. Re:No he didn't by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He did cause the delay.

      That is a grossly disingenuous misdescription of the events which took place. What he did was cause his person to be transported from one place to another within the airport. What the security staff did in response was to overreact. They had to do that because they were supposed to stop him from doing what he did. Instead, they noticed it after it happened, and then they went into full batshit panic overreaction mode. That's a typical reaction for law enforcement across the globe. When caught with your pants down, act like it's someone else's fault.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:No he didn't by hey! · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Exactly. Security screwed up, and then they HAD to deal with it. It's not mere security theater to have a security checkpoint. Those checkpoints are demonstrably important.

      Not many of us remember, but until 1973 there was no baggage screening, no metal detectors, and no id requirements for getting on a commercial flight. The number of skyjackings had climbed rapidly since the mid-50s so that in 1972 there were 11 skyjackings of commercial flights around the world, seven in the US.

      After security checkpoints were introduced in the US, there wasn't another skyjacking in the US for three years. Then an occasional one now and then, as people found loopholes. There was one passenger airliner hijacking of a flight FROM the US in all the 1980s and none in the 1990s.

      My conclusion is that the security measures put in place by 1990 were highly effective. 9/11 fit the pattern of the early dribs-and-drabs hijackings, the difference is Al Qaeda made an effort to do multiple simultaneous exploitations of the vulnerability they'd found. There hasn't been a hijacking of a US flight since then, but given that the last passenger hijacking BEFORE 9/11 was in 1987, it's likely that this long dry spell is mostly if not entirely due to banning blades from carry on luggage. That's not to say that EVERY other change since then is security theater. I think reinforcing cockpit doors and changing pilot training was a reasonable response. But a lot of the enhanced pat-downs, magic scanners, no-fly list shennanigans and such are no doubt bogus.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    7. Re:No he didn't by Tom · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He did cause the delay.

      "User errors are user interface errors."

      Last line of a keynote speech I gave two years ago. If someone walking back through that exit is so serious that it causes this, then it should not be possible, period.

      It's easy to prevent. You post a security guard there, and/or you use appropriate doors. The last is a bit tricky due to large passenger volume and baggage, but some airports I know have these doors just before the baggage pickup area, for example.

      He didn't cause the delay. If you build systems for normal users, you have to expect them to make errors, and the system has to catch those errors and handle them in a non-fatal way. If it doesn't, your system is broken.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    8. Re:No he didn't by ultranova · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There hasn't been a hijacking of a US flight since then, but given that the last passenger hijacking BEFORE 9/11 was in 1987, it's likely that this long dry spell is mostly if not entirely due to banning blades from carry on luggage.

      Given that archetypal airplane hijacking in popular imagination prior to 9/11 was "some nutcase wants to go to Cuba, and will mildly inconvenience us if we don't interfere" but is now "some nutcase wants to kill us all, and will do so if we don't stop him", I don't think the availability of blades would make much of a difference nowadays.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  3. The terrorist won. by koan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That is all.

    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
    1. Re:The terrorist won. by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The State Inc. won. They created this perpetual "terrorist" gag for all their own profit.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  4. LAX has this solved. by Animats · · Score: 3, Insightful

    LAX just runs people through huge powered revolving doors to enforce one-way traffic. They used to have a sign that said "Once you have passed this point you cannot return".

    1. Re:LAX has this solved. by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When I was in Africa, they had a guy standing there. I couldn't read the language so I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to go that way. I walked up and he held up a finger and said "No." while shaking his head. Then pointed at the security check in... "Ah! thanks! I said" and he smiled. Amazing what real employees can do.

    2. Re:LAX has this solved. by houstonbofh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Once you have passed this point you cannot return".

      I think the voters are finding this out...

  5. WTFBBQ by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The man disembarked a flight and left. It appears he wasn't paying attention, was looking at his iPad, forgot something and walked back past (the security area).

    If he got off a flight, he was already screened. Unless he left the airport grounds entirely and was out of view of security before returning, why did this require going Full Madagascar? The way it's described, it doesn't sound like he left the area. Just that he went out the exit, remembered something, turned around, and went the wrong way thru the exit. OMG EVERYBODY PANIC!

  6. Missing out by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... Too bad the iPad patron missed out ...

    Indeed it is an all around too bad for the millions of _screen lookers_ everywhere --- by focusing on that little lighted panel all the time they never know how much they have been missing out

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Missing out by dave420 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Or you could just move to civilization and not have to worry about guns...

    2. Re:Missing out by smooth+wombat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Because in civilization no one would dare think to use a knife, steel pipe, baseball bat, wrench, box cutter, hammer, screwdriver, ice pick, awl, straight razor or any number of commonly found items to use in a robbery.

      It's only guns you have to worry about.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
  7. 2 categories of dumbass by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1. iPad Man, for not actually paying attention to his surroundings.

    2. Airport security (obviously) for freaking out over the oblivious iPad Man.

  8. Ipadguy made a mistake, but you cannot forgive him by Raisey-raison · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1. iPad Man, for not actually paying attention to his surroundings. 2. Airport security (obviously) for freaking out over the oblivious iPad Man.

    Nope, the full extent of the dumbarsery is entirely on number 1. He was walking in the opposite direction to everyone else and in order for the doors at to be open somoene had to be walking the right way (at an airport, this would likely be dozens of other people). If he didn't notice this, he is the idiot. The AFP (Australian Federal Police) who secure our airports cant take chances. They cant tell whether dumb Ipad man is just Dumb Ipad man or Disgruntled Steve who wants to beat up Bill in the airside cafe until they talk to him. Now the AFP did just that and released the man without charge (they could have charged him, but under the circumstances they chose not to), so good on them for that but it is a real shame that this kind of idiocy isn't a crime... or painful.

    Ipadguy made a mistake! There was no mens rea. Do you really have to blame someone who just spaced out and not just leave the blame on the security guards and the police force. Why is it the we must always punish the little guy. Talk about bias. I am sure there are people who would imprison someone who accidentally brought in a bottled water across airport security or who forgot about a metal pen in his/her pocket. For once, just for once, can we just NOT advocate putting someone is prison for an honest mistake. Can we hold the those who really messed up accountable. The statement above just gets at how we punish the tiny infraction and ignore the huge calamity.

    This why the bankers that caused the worst economic crisis in 80 years are not in prison. Because we focus on some tiny potatoes. And we want to punish people for making a mistake we all could make. I am sure plenty of people have spaced out and tried to walk the wrong way into a secured area. They were just politely stopped. But it's not enough for some people and we sleepwalk into a police state.