What Marshall?
Where?
Of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take
to the skies on an average day in the United States, fewer than 1 percent are
protected by on-board, armed federal air marshals, a nationwide CNN
investigation has found.
That means a terrorist or other criminal bent on taking over an aircraft would be confronted by a trained air marshal on as few as 280 daily flights, according to more than a dozen federal air marshals and pilots interviewed by CNN.
The Transportation Security Administration flatly denied those reports…
One pilot who crisscrosses the country and flies internationally told CNN he hasn’t seen an air marshal on board one of his flights in six months. A federal law enforcement officer, who is not affiliated with the air marshal service and who travels in and out of Washington every week, said he has gone for months without seeing a marshal on board.
Neither individual wanted to be identified because neither is authorized by his employer to speak.
The Feds made such great headlines, though, when they promised us Marshall Dillon ready for a terrorist shoot-out.
That means a terrorist or other criminal bent on taking over an aircraft would be confronted by a trained air marshal on as few as 280 daily flights, according to more than a dozen federal air marshals and pilots interviewed by CNN.
The Transportation Security Administration flatly denied those reports…
One pilot who crisscrosses the country and flies internationally told CNN he hasn’t seen an air marshal on board one of his flights in six months. A federal law enforcement officer, who is not affiliated with the air marshal service and who travels in and out of Washington every week, said he has gone for months without seeing a marshal on board.
Neither individual wanted to be identified because neither is authorized by his employer to speak.
The Feds made such great headlines, though, when they promised us Marshall Dillon ready for a terrorist shoot-out.
Posted: Wed - March 26, 2008 at 11:12 AM