TSA reaction to recent JFK false alarm
Aug 20, 2016, 1:21 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,526
TSA reaction to recent JFK false alarm
TSA agents ran through an airport terminal, screaming about the presence of a bomb and a shooting victim, neither of which was true.
Aug 20, 2016, 1:27 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: DL PM, 1MM, DL SC, Kimpton Inner Circle
Posts: 2,416
During the false alarm, apparently triggered by someone who mistook noise for gunshots, passengers were refused entry to a safe area, police commanders couldn’t access video feeds and TSA agents ran through an airport terminal, screaming about the presence of a bomb and a shooting victim, neither of which was true.
Last edited by TWA884; Aug 21, 2016 at 6:54 pm Reason: Vulgarity
Aug 20, 2016, 1:30 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 17,451
Then they did exactly the wrong thing and went on the word of passengers who were so on edge (Why?) that a bunch of people whooping it up over a foot race immediately made them think "terrorist attack!!"
Aug 20, 2016, 1:31 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,735
Article says TSA is being asked to investigate their response: in other words, they'll justify their own actions, hide any blame by claiming the response procedure is classified and nothing will be resolved.
Past time for a completely independent investigation of the way TSA responds to problems.
Past time for a completely independent investigation of the way TSA responds to problems.
Aug 20, 2016, 1:34 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 17,451
Article says TSA is being asked to investigate their response: in other words, they'll justify their own actions, hide any blame by claiming the response procedure is classified and nothing will be resolved.
Past time for a completely independent investigation of the way TSA responds to problems.
Past time for a completely independent investigation of the way TSA responds to problems.
They closed down JFK - JFK! fer cryin'out loud - because Usain Bolt won the 100 meter dash.
That's not prudent...that's moronic.
Aug 20, 2016, 8:46 pm
#6
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: Delta TDK(or care)WIA, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,869
I've got a plan in a case like that. If there's a gunman in the terminal, I'm going to head for the Skyclub, or the Skyteam partner lounge. At JFK, if it's T4, the gunman will collapse from exhaustion because of the distance, and then if he manages to recover and drag himself there, he won't be admitted. At T2 or T1, he'll get to the lounge OK, but they still won't let him in.
Aug 21, 2016, 6:55 pm
#7
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,631
Also discussed in the New York forum:
Aug 22, 2016, 6:47 am
#8
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
This incident is mind-boggling. Panic, hysteria, and some of the stupidest stupidity I can ever remember hearing about.
I wonder how I would react in such a situation? Would my mind shut down and cause me to blindly panic and stampede along with the rest of the crowd? Or would I find a quiet spot to sit and wait things out? Would I be a thinking, reasoning human being, or a panicked animal, throwing elbows and screaming profanities at max volume until my voice gave out?
I just hope I never have to find out first hand.
I wonder how I would react in such a situation? Would my mind shut down and cause me to blindly panic and stampede along with the rest of the crowd? Or would I find a quiet spot to sit and wait things out? Would I be a thinking, reasoning human being, or a panicked animal, throwing elbows and screaming profanities at max volume until my voice gave out?
I just hope I never have to find out first hand.
Aug 22, 2016, 8:55 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,110
This incident is mind-boggling. Panic, hysteria, and some of the stupidest stupidity I can ever remember hearing about.
I wonder how I would react in such a situation? Would my mind shut down and cause me to blindly panic and stampede along with the rest of the crowd? Or would I find a quiet spot to sit and wait things out? Would I be a thinking, reasoning human being, or a panicked animal, throwing elbows and screaming profanities at max volume until my voice gave out?
I just hope I never have to find out first hand.
I wonder how I would react in such a situation? Would my mind shut down and cause me to blindly panic and stampede along with the rest of the crowd? Or would I find a quiet spot to sit and wait things out? Would I be a thinking, reasoning human being, or a panicked animal, throwing elbows and screaming profanities at max volume until my voice gave out?
I just hope I never have to find out first hand.
Aug 22, 2016, 7:06 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: New York and Vienna
Programs: PA WorldPass Platinum, AA, DL, LH. GHA Black, SPG and HHonors Gold
Posts: 3,870
I was there, at T1, just as the panic began. I had just driven up.
I really thought that a group of travelers was playing some kind of strange game involving crouching at first.
More detail on what I saw here:
JFK Gun Scare and Evacuation: My Evening at Terminal 1
please note: this link is to an online source to which I contribute and/or have a financial interest.
I really thought that a group of travelers was playing some kind of strange game involving crouching at first.
More detail on what I saw here:
JFK Gun Scare and Evacuation: My Evening at Terminal 1
After an unfounded report of shots fired resulted in an evacuation of three terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport, passengers found themselves in a chaotic scene.
I was there and witnessed the terrifying evacuation of one of the terminals.
To recap, around 9:30 p.m. EDT, police received a report of shots fired in Terminal 8, American Airlines’ facility at the airport. Two witnesses told Port Authority police that they heard loud popping sounds that they believed to have been gunshots....<SNIP>
I was there and witnessed the terrifying evacuation of one of the terminals.
To recap, around 9:30 p.m. EDT, police received a report of shots fired in Terminal 8, American Airlines’ facility at the airport. Two witnesses told Port Authority police that they heard loud popping sounds that they believed to have been gunshots....<SNIP>
Last edited by TWA884; Aug 22, 2016 at 8:59 pm Reason: Fix BB code
Aug 24, 2016, 9:33 am
#11
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,668
This is inexcusable.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I work in a large building (single company). We have emergency procedures, and, just like in school, at least once a year, we have a surprise evacuation drill. There are designated co-ordinators (and backups) who will be wearing red hats during an emergency and who are responsible for sweeping areas and directing everyone to safety.
I would expect that a federal agency tasked with keeping our airports safe would have similar clearcut procedures in place. Sadly, it appears that they do not. TSA doesn't seem to have learned anything from the LAX shooting incident.
Perhaps this is just another example of 'consistent inconsistency'. LAX was supposed to do a review of the event afterwords to identify areas of improvement. Apparently the results of that post-mortem were either not shared with JFK and other airports or the JFK FSD decided he'll do things his own way. No such thing as consistent 'best practices' at TSA, I guess.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I work in a large building (single company). We have emergency procedures, and, just like in school, at least once a year, we have a surprise evacuation drill. There are designated co-ordinators (and backups) who will be wearing red hats during an emergency and who are responsible for sweeping areas and directing everyone to safety.
I would expect that a federal agency tasked with keeping our airports safe would have similar clearcut procedures in place. Sadly, it appears that they do not. TSA doesn't seem to have learned anything from the LAX shooting incident.
Perhaps this is just another example of 'consistent inconsistency'. LAX was supposed to do a review of the event afterwords to identify areas of improvement. Apparently the results of that post-mortem were either not shared with JFK and other airports or the JFK FSD decided he'll do things his own way. No such thing as consistent 'best practices' at TSA, I guess.
Aug 24, 2016, 11:43 am
#12
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Palm Beach/ New England
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, DL GM, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,382
I have a visual image of those inflatable waving tube "men" -- the jiggly, 10-feet tall variety -- in blue TSA costumes, running through JFK and scaring the tourists.
Aug 24, 2016, 12:46 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: DL PM, 1MM, DL SC, Kimpton Inner Circle
Posts: 2,416
Article in the NYT today about this:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/op...ol-left-region
Some highlights:
Some highlights:
Officials were slow to respond and seemed confused or even ignorant of security protocols, and there were reports of T.S.A. agents abandoning their posts. There was no obvious chain of command, and no coordination among the responsible agencies — all of which was deeply alarming, given the terrorist attacks this year at airports in Brussels and Istanbul.
Aug 24, 2016, 2:29 pm
#14
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,668
I don't know if they still do it, but most public schools used to have regular fire drills occasionally to make sure that everyone knew what to do in an emergency.
Sad (and scary) to think that the average elementary school probably has a better protocol (and understanding of that protocol) in place than TSA.
Whatever happened to the famous TSA "freeze" drills? Or was the purpose of those drills to freeze pax so TSOs would have an easier time getting themselves to safety? Reminds me of the old joke about being with a friend and getting attacked by a lion. You don't have to run faster than a lion to save yourself, just faster than your friend.
Sad (and scary) to think that the average elementary school probably has a better protocol (and understanding of that protocol) in place than TSA.
Whatever happened to the famous TSA "freeze" drills? Or was the purpose of those drills to freeze pax so TSOs would have an easier time getting themselves to safety? Reminds me of the old joke about being with a friend and getting attacked by a lion. You don't have to run faster than a lion to save yourself, just faster than your friend.
Aug 24, 2016, 3:19 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,110
I don't know if they still do it, but most public schools used to have regular fire drills occasionally to make sure that everyone knew what to do in an emergency.
Sad (and scary) to think that the average elementary school probably has a better protocol (and understanding of that protocol) in place than TSA.
Whatever happened to the famous TSA "freeze" drills? Or was the purpose of those drills to freeze pax so TSOs would have an easier time getting themselves to safety? Reminds me of the old joke about being with a friend and getting attacked by a lion. You don't have to run faster than a lion to save yourself, just faster than your friend.
Sad (and scary) to think that the average elementary school probably has a better protocol (and understanding of that protocol) in place than TSA.
Whatever happened to the famous TSA "freeze" drills? Or was the purpose of those drills to freeze pax so TSOs would have an easier time getting themselves to safety? Reminds me of the old joke about being with a friend and getting attacked by a lion. You don't have to run faster than a lion to save yourself, just faster than your friend.