Aviation Security: Additional Controls Needed to Address Weaknesses in
Carriage of Weapons Regulations (Letter Report, 09/29/2000,
GAO/RCED-00-181).

GAO provided information on aviation security, focusing on: (1) the
frequency with which law enforcement officers carry weapons on board
commercial aircraft; and (2) if weapons carriage regulations both
current and proposed, are sufficient to ensure the safety of passengers
and the security of aircraft.

GAO noted that: (1) the number of law enforcement officers who fly while
armed is unknown because neither the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) nor the airlines systematically collect this information; (2)
recognizing that weapons legally carried onto aircraft by law
enforcement officers may present a threat to safety, FAA has proposed
changes to strengthen the regulation governing weapons carriage and to
minimize the number of officers carrying weapons on board commercial
aircraft; (3) however, neither the current nor proposed regulation
addresses several remaining problems, some of which may arise due to
simple human error; (4) weaknesses include: (a) no safeguards to help
ensure that firearms are removed from an aircraft when law enforcement
officers deplane, raising the potential for these weapons to be used by
unauthorized persons if they are left behind, thereby creating safety
and security concerns; (b) federal law enforcement officers are not
required to document their need to fly while armed, despite some airline
representatives' concerns that federal law enforcement officers are
flying with their firearms without having a legitimate mission-related
need; (c) law enforcement officers who have notified an airline that
they will be flying with firearms are not required to have their
carry-on luggage screened, enabling them to carry items that may be
inimical to the safety of the flight, such as oxygen bottles, lighter
fluid, or tear gas; almost all other passengers, including the pilots of
the aircraft, must be screened; and (d) there is no procedure for
verifying the credentials of law enforcement officers flying while
armed; a recent GAO investigation found that falsified law enforcement
credentials could be used to receive authorization from airlines to fly
while armed; (5) FAA is working with the law enforcement community and
with airlines to implement a secure memory card system to better verify
law enforcement officers' identity; (6) this technology is currently in
use by other establishments may provide a means to address several of
the gaps GAO identified; (7) information stored in the cards' memory,
which would be accessed through a specialized reader, could include the
law enforcement officers' name, employing agency, and firearms training
status; and (8) this system would also enable FAA to document the extent
to which firearms are carried on board aircraft.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-00-181
     TITLE:  Aviation Security: Additional Controls Needed to Address
	     Weaknesses in Carriage of Weapons Regulations
      DATE:  09/29/2000
   SUBJECT:  Safety regulation
	     Safety standards
	     Air transportation operations
	     Firearms
	     Law enforcement personnel
	     Airports
	     Facility security
	     Transportation safety
	     Airline regulation
IDENTIFIER:  Aviation Safety Reporting System