{
  "id": "2002-february-cnns-flight-risk",
  "slug": "2002-february-cnns-flight-risk",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2002-february-cnns-flight-risk.html",
  "year": 2002,
  "month": "February",
  "monthNum": 2,
  "headline": "CNN's 'Flight Risk'",
  "kicker": "SPOTLIGHT: TERRORISM",
  "author_name": "Denise Prodigo-Herrmann",
  "author_title": "Database consultant",
  "affiliation": "CNN",
  "summary": "Following 9/11, journalists analyzed FAA enforcement data to examine security violations at major U.S. airports and airlines, focusing on weapons detected over a 10-year period to identify potential gaps in airport security screening.",
  "keywords": [
    "security",
    "airports",
    "weapons"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Public Safety",
    "Data & Databases",
    "Investigative Methods"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "Access"
  ],
  "full_text": "In the weeks following 9-11, journalists around the country were scrambling to make sense of the Federal Aviation Administration Enforcement Information System (EIS) database.\n\nUnder the guise of \"national security and safety\" the Federal Aviation Administration refused to comment about any information relating to the enforcement database, making it difficult to decipher the meanings of some codes within the database. The NICAR listserv was flooded with information, ideas, concerns and strategies relating to the data and was a helpful resource during the entire analysis process.\n\nBecause CNN was interested in security issues relating to the top 25 airports and the top 10 airlines in the country, I obtained a list of the top 25 airports based on passenger load from Airports Council International and a list of the top 10 airlines from the U.S. Department of Transportation. My analysis focused mainly on the FAA EIS database, but reports about airport security and safety from the General Accounting Office also were used. While the enforcement data was said to date back to 1962, the earlier years of data did not seem complete. The final CNN analysis covered a 10-year period from 1991-2000.\n\nWithin the FAA database, the main table included all incidents relating to enforcement, such as flight operations, training, drug testing, hazardous materials and security. Using Microsoft Access, security incidents were isolated using cat_code = 20 in the main table. The security table detailed the type of security violations.\n\nWhen linked with the main table, the database started to tell a story. For example: On April 19, 1991, at Anchorage International Airport, concourse B, a male passenger, whose identity is expunged in this database, had a firearm in his possession. The firearm was detected in the X-ray machine, and the firearm was unloaded.\n\nFor the CNN analysis, it would be impossible to provide that level of detail on deadline for 25 airports and 10 airlines over a decade.\n\nAs with all information collected from databases, the data must be confirmed by other sources, such as police records, to accurately report the story. So, I decided to summarize the database by counting specific weapons detected at airports over a 10-year period. My theory was, if airports like Newark and Logan could have terrorists board planes with weapons, they likely would have a low number of weapons detected at their airports as compared to equally large U.S. airports. If few weapons are detected as compared to other airports, then screeners aren't doing their jobs.\n\nFocus on weapons\n\nWith more than 300 security codes and no FAA confirmation, it was difficult to ascertain the meanings of some of these codes. After much debate and research, I decided to focus on all security breaches related specifically to weapons. Weapons were defined using the following security descriptions: bludgeon, explosive, firearm, firearm hand gun, firearm - long gun, incendiary, knife, other weapon, stun gun and tear gas/chemical.\n\nGrouping these descriptions into one category showed the number of weapons detected at each airport by year with further breakdowns of the number of weapons.\n\nSecurity descriptions allegedly relating to tests conducted by the FAA, where FAA employees dress in plain clothes and try to get items through security check points, were not used as the meanings of the code descriptions were unclear. Some reports, for example, stated that the code \"Fail Detect HG\" meant failure to detect a handgun while others reported that it meant failure to detect a hand grenade. Without FAA confirmation of the meanings, I decided to take a more cautious approach to my analysis.\n\nStories and graphics\n\nThe six-week project produced nine stories written by CNN.com reporter Mike Fish and a number of detailed graphics designed by the CNN.com staff. The graphics showed:\n\nThe number of incidents and violations at the top 25 airports and the top 10 airlines over a decade. For each incident, there could be numerous violations. The numbers were broken down year by year for each airport and airline in separate charts.\nThe number of weapons found at the top 25 airports over a 10-year period. These numbers also were broken down year by year for each airport in separate charts.\nThe dollar amount paid in fines by the top 10 airlines from 1998 - 2000, according to the FAA quarterly enforcement reports.\nThe annual turnover rate of security screeners at 18 airports as reported by a GAO aviation security report from June 2000. The percentages of security violations for the same period also were reported from the enforcement database.\n\nDenise Prodigo-Herrmann can be reached by e-mail at dmph@bellsouth.net",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "2002-february-security-problems",
      "score": 0.4
    },
    {
      "slug": "2002-february-in-depth-online",
      "score": 0.355
    },
    {
      "slug": "2002-february-meeting-the-data-challenge",
      "score": 0.344
    },
    {
      "slug": "2002-february-comparing-foot-traffic",
      "score": 0.343
    },
    {
      "slug": "2001-novemberdecember-airport-insecurity",
      "score": 0.322
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2002-february-cnns-flight-risk.html",
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