Airline Worker Loads Unscreened Bag To Highlight Risks

INDIANAPOLIS -- In a demonstration for 6News, an airline employee loaded an unscreened bag onto an airplane to highlight what he says are security risks at Indianapolis International Airport.

The ground crew employee, who spoke to 6News on condition of anonymity, said workers access the airport's restricted areas by swiping a badge through a machine but encounter no metal detectors or guards. They also can ship packages to friends and relatives by putting them with a plane's cargo without any security personnel checking the bag, he said.

The worker said he put an unscreened bag onto a plane bound for Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. He gave 6News' Jeremy Brilliant the flight number, a claim ticket and a description of the bag.

Brilliant went to the Cincinnati airport and picked up the bag, which was unloaded with the rest of the flight's luggage.

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Video: Airline Worker Loads Unscreened Bag To Highlight Risks

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The bag contained nothing sinister -- it had a cell phone and some batteries -- but the employee said he and other ground crewmen can send just about anything because they and their belongings are not physically checked.

"I know that my airline and the other airlines all kind of have the same act that takes place," the worker told Brilliant.

Earlier this week, 6News reported that the worker used a hidden camera to record himself boarding two empty planes without submitting to physical checks.

David Kane, the federal security director for Indianapolis International, said regular physical inspections aren't necessary, in part because workers are subject to random searches and undergo extensive background checks. He said workers' names are continually checked against terrorist watch lists.

"The risk analysis that's been done for this location (indicates) the system we have is adequate," Kane said.

Criticism of airline worker screenings isn't confined to Indianapolis. In an evaluation of security, the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association gave the aviation industry a failing grade for employee screenings. The report noted that badge-swiping is usually the most stringent measure workers face to gain access to restricted areas.

"A single plastic ID card -- with not actually inspecting the people themselves and ensuring that the individual with the card is the real person and making sure that the ramp is secure -- leaves openings," the coalition's Jay Norelius said.

Tim Ferrell, a former ramp agent with Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines, said he won't take commercial flights because he believes employee screenings are not stringent enough.

"I wouldn't encourage anyone in my family to fly commercially until they get something better done security-wise," Ferrell told 6News.

A few U.S. airports have physical screening programs in place for employees, Brilliant reported. They include San Francisco International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Denver International Airport.