N.J. senators demand better airport security

NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey's U.S. senators slammed federal authorities yesterday over a weekend security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport and called for upgrades to surveillance camera systems and better training and accountability for security officers.

At a news conference in a terminal adjacent to the one that was shut down for six hours Sunday night, Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg and Rep. Donald Payne, all Democrats, used terms such as "major negligence" and "management failure" to describe the incident, in which an unidentified man entered Terminal C through an exit door.

The breach exposed flaws at three levels: A security officer at the exit failed to see the man enter the secure area, security cameras weren't storing images, and about an hour elapsed before law enforcement authorities were notified after TSA officials viewed images recorded on cameras owned by Continental Airlines.

"We don't know what his mission was," Lautenberg said referring to the man, who left the terminal 20 minutes after entering and has not been found. "Was he bird-dogging for a future mission, or was he just innocently looking for a friend?"

The security officer was initially reassigned to non-screening duties and on Tuesday was placed on administrative leave, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said. The TSA also said it had "modified the staffing and configuration at the exit lanes in Terminal C," though Davis did not offer specifics.

Much attention has focused on the cameras. Davis said TSA officers had been checking the system regularly since Sunday; according to published reports, no recordings had been made for several days before then.

Davis said Tuesday that the TSA hadn't been aware of the problem or notified the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which maintains the cameras, because the recorded images are reviewed only when an incident has occurred or is suspected.

Lautenberg likened the scenario to one in which a fire department doesn't notice one of its trucks has a flat tire until it has to respond to a call.

Menendez called it "unfathomable" that the recording system wasn't already being checked routinely and suggested a system that would provide a warning when it stopped recording.

"There clearly are innovations that exist that will set off an alarm if your system shuts off," he said. "You shouldn't depend on whether or not there's a security guard checking every hour on the hour. What if in the interim there was a failure of the system?"

In a statement, the TSA said it was working with the Port Authority "to ensure consistent performance and confirm operational readiness" of the camera system.

Lautenberg said he had called for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to review the incident, which stranded thousands of travelers, some overnight, and caused ripple delays around the globe.