Security Training for Airline Crews Continues; Is It Enough?
Jim Kouri, CPP
September 13, 2005
Training flight and cabin crew members to handle potential threats against domestic aircraft is an important element in securing our nation's aviation system. The responsibility for ensuring that crew members are prepared to handle these threats is a shared responsibility between the private sector -- air carriers -- and the federal government, primarily the Transportation Security Administration.
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the TSA enhanced guidance and standards for flight and cabin crew member security training with input from aviation experts and airline executives. Specifically, the TSA revised the guidance and standards to include additional training required by law and to improve the organization and clarity of the guidance and standards.
Some stakeholders interviewed by analysts with the General Accounting Office and the GOA's own review generally found that the revised guidance and standards improved upon previous versions in terms of organization and clarity of the information provided. However, some stakeholders identified concerns about, for example, the reasonableness of applying parts of the guidance and standards to both flight and cabin crew members and the difficulty in implementing some of the standards without additional information or training tools from the TSA.
Additionally, the TSA has not established strategic goals and performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of the training because it considers its role in the training program as regulatory. In this regard, the TSA views the individual air carriers as responsible for establishing performance goals and measures for their training programs, but has not required them to do so. Without goals and measures, the TSA and air carriers will be limited in their ability to fully assess accomplishments and target associated improvements.
The TSA recently took steps to strengthen its efforts to oversee air carriers' flight and cabin crew security training to ensure they are complying with the required guidance and standards. For example, in January 2005, the TSA added staff with expertise in designing training programs to review air carriers' crew member security training curriculums and developed a standard form for staff to use to conduct their reviews. However, TSA lacks adequate controls for monitoring and reviewing air carriers' crew member security training, including written procedures for conducting and documenting these reviews.
The TSA plans to develop written procedures, but has not established a timeframe for completing this effort. The TSA has developed an advanced voluntary self-defense training program with input from stakeholders and implemented the program in December 2004, as required by law. However, stakeholders and GOA analysis identified concerns about the training design and delivery, such as the lack of recurrent training and the lack of a realistic training environment. Also, the TSA has not yet established performance measures for the program or established a time frame for evaluating the program's effectiveness.
Sources: Transportation Security Agency, General Accounting Office, National Security Institute, American Society for Industrial Security, National Association of Chiefs of Police
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the TSA enhanced guidance and standards for flight and cabin crew member security training with input from aviation experts and airline executives. Specifically, the TSA revised the guidance and standards to include additional training required by law and to improve the organization and clarity of the guidance and standards.
Some stakeholders interviewed by analysts with the General Accounting Office and the GOA's own review generally found that the revised guidance and standards improved upon previous versions in terms of organization and clarity of the information provided. However, some stakeholders identified concerns about, for example, the reasonableness of applying parts of the guidance and standards to both flight and cabin crew members and the difficulty in implementing some of the standards without additional information or training tools from the TSA.
Additionally, the TSA has not established strategic goals and performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of the training because it considers its role in the training program as regulatory. In this regard, the TSA views the individual air carriers as responsible for establishing performance goals and measures for their training programs, but has not required them to do so. Without goals and measures, the TSA and air carriers will be limited in their ability to fully assess accomplishments and target associated improvements.
The TSA recently took steps to strengthen its efforts to oversee air carriers' flight and cabin crew security training to ensure they are complying with the required guidance and standards. For example, in January 2005, the TSA added staff with expertise in designing training programs to review air carriers' crew member security training curriculums and developed a standard form for staff to use to conduct their reviews. However, TSA lacks adequate controls for monitoring and reviewing air carriers' crew member security training, including written procedures for conducting and documenting these reviews.
The TSA plans to develop written procedures, but has not established a timeframe for completing this effort. The TSA has developed an advanced voluntary self-defense training program with input from stakeholders and implemented the program in December 2004, as required by law. However, stakeholders and GOA analysis identified concerns about the training design and delivery, such as the lack of recurrent training and the lack of a realistic training environment. Also, the TSA has not yet established performance measures for the program or established a time frame for evaluating the program's effectiveness.
Sources: Transportation Security Agency, General Accounting Office, National Security Institute, American Society for Industrial Security, National Association of Chiefs of Police
Print
Email
