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American Airlines Is Using a CT Scanner To Screen Luggage At New York's JFK Airport (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the all-in-the-name-of-safety dept.

According to American Airlines, the airline is working with the TSA to install a new bag-scanning machine at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. "The machine uses the same technology as CT scanners, providing a 3D image of bag's contents, and is expected to be operational in late July," reports The Verge. From the report: The new scanner, which will be used at the airport's Terminal 8 security checkpoint, will allow TSA to rotate a bag's image 360 degrees to show its contents. American Airlines says this should provide a more effective way for agents to inspect bags for explosives and other prohibited items. TSA administrator David Pekoske tells CBS News that the new machines could allow for liquids, gels, aerosols, and laptops to be left in bags. The TSA plans to have 15 of the new CT scanners at airports by the end of the year, and are authorized to purchase up to 240 of the machines, which cost $300,000 each, in 2019. The technology has also been tested at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and in Boston.

11 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Honestly, this doesn't bother me... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they can effectively screen baggage and prove it, it might reduce some of the other security-theater TSA nonsense.

    1. Re:Honestly, this doesn't bother me... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

      Ticket/ID check is generally at the head of the security line or (rarely) at the boarding gate. The guy/girl looking at the X-ray scanner screen isn't going to know your identity. The images won't be tied to an identity -- too many bags being dropped on the belt by random people to make this efficient.

    2. Re:Honestly, this doesn't bother me... by harvey+the+nerd · · Score: 2

      This thing bothers me a lot.

      It reduces what you can own and travel in privacy with. Several generations ago, some of my ancestors were stripped of their silver at the border leaving.... Sounds like more of the same coming, and other common govt hijinks.

    3. Re:Honestly, this doesn't bother me... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

      Are armed pilots actually useful in a hijacking (assuming that hijackers get past a locked cockpit door)? The pilots already have the ultimate weapon -- the control yoke or stick. If they're strapped in, they can make sure anyone who's NOT strapped in is no longer vertical.

      I'd frankly rather see an undercover air marshal that's armed and let the pilots concentrate on their core competency: flying the damn plane.

  2. Re:Security theater is expensive by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're assuming the TSA guys actually work.

    Apparently they were only 5 percent effective. Yes, 5%.

    Theater Security Assholes.

    ---
    TSA Logic

  3. Re:Security theater is expensive by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Has anyone tried to smuggle explosives into an airport and been caught?

    I think what you really want to know is if anyone has tried to smuggle explosives on to a plane, not into an airport. You don't get checked when you walk into an airport, you get checked when you go to the gates.

    And, the answer is "yes". People have tried to smuggle explosives onto airplanes. Here is a partial list of 2017 attempts:

    A checked bag containing an ammunition box with three live ground burst simulators, two live M83 smoke grenades, and one inert practice grenade was discovered at the Palm Springs International Airport (PSP).
    A live flashbang grenade was discovered in a carry-on bag at the San Diego International Airport (SAN).
    A live smoke grenade was discovered in a carry-on bag at the Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU). Not only do smoke grenades deploy a thick blanket of smoke, they also burn extremely hot and are considered hazmat.
    A one-pound bottle of gun powder was discovered in a checked bag at the Ketchikan International Airport (KTN). Gun powder is never permitted on an aircraft..
    Five one-pound bottles of gun powder were discovered in a checked bag at the Boise Airport (BOI).
    A ten-ounce container of gun powder was discovered in a checked bag at the Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). While properly packed ammunition is allowed in checked bags, gun powder is strictly prohibited altogether.

    There were also about 4,000 guns that TSA seized in 2017 when stupid jackoffs (mostly rappers, professional athletes and Republican officials) tried carrying them onto a plane.

    People also like to bring inert explosive devices onto planes for some reason. A bunch of inert hand grenades, claymores, suicide vests and other goodies were seized in 2017. Also, throwing stars, daggers disguised as hairbrushes and tons of other whacky shit.

    https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2018/...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  4. more than sixty million dollars. by nimbius · · Score: 2

    thats the budget for the TSA to be given the ability to dissect your luggage and look for known weapons and bombs that have been previously used in airline hijackings. The average middle school in america is 10-20 million dollars. The average library is about 4 million dollars. The war in Afghanistan, which has now run for 17 years, has cost 1.7 trillion dollars.

    the point isnt to split hairs about what the money could be used for, its to give pause to consider that every dollar we spend defending against an enemy we largely spend 40 years creating, we could spend money on preventative measures like education and reducing our dependency on unnecessary and endless wars of aggression.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:more than sixty million dollars. by jbengt · · Score: 2

      No, $60,000,000 is the budget for buying new scanners.
      The requested 2019 budget for the TSA is $7.7 billion
      I just hope these are the same type of scanners we designed for last year, I would hate to have to redesign the mechanical/electrical support for new ones for a third time. By the way, that upgrade of the back-of-the house scanners (not the ones you see at the check-in or carry-on lines) for a single airline at a single airport had greater than a $50,000,000 budget. At $300,000 a piece, the cost of buying those 6 scanners would have been a very small part of the cost. The larger part is re-working the baggage handling conveyer system to accommodate the new requirements, along with all the associated electrical, HVAC, fire protection, IT, and even plumbing needed to support the new arrangement. .

  5. Re:Security theater is expensive by Anubis+IV · · Score: 2

    It seems the government’s tiger repelling rock has been enough to discourage further attempts, or we can go with the tigers don’t want to eat us now theory.

    FTFY

    Obligatory link to The Simpson’s clip: https://youtu.be/xSVqLHghLpw

    Long story short, you’ve created a false dichotomy. Given the 95% failure rate, we can assume the TSA’s security efforts aren’t doing much. Likewise, the terrorists likely still want us gone. The only reasonable conclusion is this that they aren’t attacking us for other reasons.

  6. Re:Security theater is expensive by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Thanks god for the TSA. There has not been a even a single unicorn attack since it's inception.

    There also haven't been any unicorns seized by TSA. But they did seize explosives, edged weapons, and 4,000 fucking guns.

       

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    You are welcome on my lawn.
  7. Re:Security theater is expensive by Shotgun · · Score: 2

    Also, it has stopped all the tiger attacks. Hasn't been a single one since the TSA started.

    --
    Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
    Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba