U.S. takes steps to deter missile attacks on commercial planes

WASHINGTON -- The government has taken undisclosed steps to protect commercial flights from a missile attack and a task force has been assembled to come up with more ideas, officials said Wednesday.

The government has long been concerned about the possibility of a shoulder-fired missile taking down a plane, but an unsuccessful attack on an Israeli jet in Kenya in November hastened the need to act.

After the attempted shootdown, U.S. security officials formed a task force to assess the danger posed by such weapons. They concluded the threat could be serious because the rockets are portable and plentiful, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

FBI spokesman John Iannarelli said officials are focusing on identifying vulnerable areas at the nation's airports and ensuring greater vigilance among local police and airport officials.

Neighborhood watch

One approach under consideration is a neighborhood watch program that would educate local police and residents near airports to identify missile parts and to be on the lookout for suspicious people.

"Someone is not going to be able to just whip one of these things out of a briefcase," Iannarelli said.

The National Security Council, the White House office of homeland security, the FBI and transportation safety agencies are part of the group coordinating the efforts, presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

"There have already been steps taken" that must remain confidential for security reasons, Fleischer said, adding that more plans are in the works.

Though security has been tightened considerably at airports since the Sept. 11 attacks, passenger planes still are seen as vulnerable to missiles that could be launched from outside an airport's perimeter. Federal officials are looking at various options to protect them.

Shoulder-fired missiles are relatively cheap and easy to use. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of SA-7s -- heat-seeking rockets that can hit low-flying aircraft within 30 miles -- are available to terrorists on the worldwide arms market.

Terrorists fired two SA-7 missiles that narrowly missed an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya on Nov. 28. Officials concluded that al-Qaida was probably behind the attack, which was launched from a four-wheel drive vehicle one mile from the airport.

In the spring, suspected al-Qaida operatives used an SA-7 to try to shoot down an American plane taking off from Prince Sultan Air Base, south of the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.

The discovery of the attempt prompted the FBI to issue a bulletin to U.S. police departments on May 22, urging them to be vigilant.

U.S. airports are being surveyed now to assess their vulnerability, Lunner said, and airport security personnel have been put on alert.

Lunner said various technologies also are being looked at to protect planes. For example, military aircraft carry flares that can be launched to serve as a decoy heat source to throw off a missile.

In addition to those jets, Air Force One and Federal Aviation Administration planes that carry heads of state have been equipped with the countermeasures, said Paul Hudson, head of the Aviation Consumer Action Project, a passenger advocacy group.

"That's why there's never been a hit on a (U.S.) plane flying in the Iraq no-fly zone," Hudson said.

Adding such expensive technology to thousands of commercial aircraft may not be financially feasible for an industry in which nearly every major airline is losing money.

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