Eyes on the sky - Since Sept. 11, many more officials watching

WASHINGTON-- The government says it is keeping better track of the U.S. transportation network since the Sept. 11 attacks, with the goal to quickly pinpoint an attack and determine how best to handle it.

Federal officials have put in place new communications and mapping systems, incorporated intelligence in their planning and practiced working together in event of a crisis.

"If we face it again, we will be ready," said Ellen Engleman, who just left as administrator for the Transportation Department's Research and Special Programs Administration.

The agency operates a high-tech communications center, built at the end of last year. It is staffed around the clock with a half-dozen people who monitor events that could affect transportation, including incidents such as the recent fire at an oil depot in New York Harbor.

A first-alert system allows workers at the center to send a voice message within an hour to hundreds of state and local officials.

Direct line to White House

A secure videoconferencing system means Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta can talk directly with the White House. On Sept. 11, 2001, he risked getting caught in Washington traffic while going to discuss grounding all airplanes with Vice President Dick Cheney.

Transportation officials can put layers of information about highways, airfields and pipelines on a single map, making it easier to coordinate an evacuation or get emergency supplies where they are needed.

But the technology is not as important as the cooperation, said Phil Anderson, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"A lot of it is leadership initiatives," Anderson said. "It's just forcing everyone to get in bed with one another."

He believes communication among government agencies has gotten better since the terror attacks, but says there is room for improvement, especially between government and private industry.

One important change is that transportation agencies have access to intelligence that they did not have before Sept. 11. For example, next door to the new communications center is a CIA-approved facility that allows transportation officials to exchange classified information as an event unfolds.

Since the terrorist attacks, the FAA has expanded and upgraded its operations center blocks from the Capitol. The agency also now has a continuous communications link with the military.

When air traffic controllers lost contact with an American Airlines flight from Boston's Logan Airport on Sept. 11, 2001, it was 15 minutes before word got to the military command responsible for the defense of North American airspace. That was too late for a fighter jet to intercept the jetliner before it hit the World Trade Center six minutes later.

Loss of radio contact

Today, FAA security liaison Abby Smith knows almost instantly when a pilot loses radio contact, a sign that a hijacking could be in progress.

Operating out of the operations center, Smith is the first person air traffic controllers call when they think something is amiss. Also listening are officials in the Air Force and at the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Recently, an American Airlines jetliner heading toward Chicago's O'Hare International Airport lost radio contact with the control tower. Someone at air traffic control immediately called Smith.

Smith stood up and shouted across the room: "Excuse me, did you hear about American? It's in descent!" A dozen others on the scene looked at the screen on the wall showing the plane flying at 7,000 feet and nearing the airport. The pilot regained contact, though, and all was well.

It's not all that unusual for pilots to lose radio contact, Smith said. They might fly out of range, bump the speakers or miss instructions to change their frequency.