Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 - Edna Chirico and I Will Be Following Implications of this and Other Events for Spanish-Speaking Community in the US

A flight above and through a war zone leads to tragedy. In collaboration with Edna Chirico's environmental, planning and educational consulting expertise I will be expanding my Spanish and Portuguese language transportation and international security expertise to the Charlotte Area. This morning, July 18th, 2014 I again was honored to be a guest on Univision's Miami radio affiliate Radio Mambi 719. I told noted radio news anchor Bernadette Pardo that the system that shot down Flight 17 could not have been operated by a "group of guys from a garage," and in Spanish made the following comments - - A BUK SAM is a fairly sophisticated system and it is unlikely it would be in the hands of untrained insurgents. - Contrary to reports the US FAA restricted area covered the Crimea - not the Donetsk Area. - Despite the restricted area, why would a civil airline fly through a war zone? Will carriers in other volatile areas, such as near Iraq and Syria heed this lesson? Or do they need to? [NOTE: Bec ause of code shares in airline alliances many of the passengers didn't realize they were on a Malaysian Airlines flight rather than a KLM Flight] -I will bet that litigators are already on their way to the airport. (En Espanol:) - Un BUK SAM es un sistema bastante sofisticado y es poco probable que sería en manos de los insurgentes no entrenados. Como un general retirado de los EE.UU. commento - "Este no fue un grupo de chicos en un garaje." - Putin será difícil de explicar esto. - Contrariamente a los informes de la zona restringida EE.UU.FAA cubrió la Crimea - no el Área de Donetsk. - A pesar de la zona restringida, ¿por qué una línea aérea civil, volar a través de una zona de guerra? Para ahorrar combustible? ¿Las empresas aereas de otras áreas volátiles, como cerca de Irak y Siria deben prestar atención a esta lección? ¿O es que necesitan? -Yo apuesto a que los litigantes ya están de camino al aeropuerto. - Esto podría acabar con Malaysian Airlines igual que Pan Am 103 también acabó con Pan Am. - Cerca de 300 almas perdidas. - Oraciones.

It Appears Baghdad Will Fall to Al Qaeda Related Group - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - Dire News for Price of Oil and and for the Civilized World

Commentary by Mark Carolla, Former Defense Diplomat and Analyst. It appears that there is little standing in the way of an Islamic Extremist, not to mention terrorist, capture of Baghdad, or at best a partition of Iraq into sectarian parts - Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni. For US foreign policy and strategic interests this makes the Ukrainian-Russian ethnic clash look like a Sunday School outing. What could result here is an Islamic extremist Caliphate - the extremists have already threatened to kill staunch American Ally King Abdullah of Jordan. At the very least the price of oil could go sky high. Saudi Arabia could be threatened,and there could be a general Shiite-Sunni conflict ranging from Lebanon and Syria to Iran. Our readers are urged to follow Retired US Air Force Colonel Rick Francona's blog at www.francona.com for up to date informed analysis. Additionally, Mark Carolla, the author of this small piece, in collaboration with Edna Chirico of Green Moose Consulting, LLC is prepared to do an analysis of what this means for Charlotte area business. Edna Chirico's knowledge of the Carolinas infrastructure and economy along with Mark Carolla's three decade plus international security experience can be deployed to help you evaluate your business risk strategy.

Airport Bus Connector Provides Limited Connector Service to Charlotte Airport

CATS and the Airport have announced a New Albeit Constrained Bus Connector to the Airport. TAKE THE NEW AIRPORT CONNECTOR ON YOUR NEXT TRIP Charlotte, NC - The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) announced a new express bus service for travelers and employees that begins June 16. Two separate routes will provide riders direct service from select CATS park and rides. “This partnership provides another way to get to the airport without having to drive,” said Carolyn Flowers, CATS CEO. “The success of the Sprinter route to the airport from Center City indicates people are looking for travel options.” Route 590 Airport Connector-Northlake will operate from the Northlake park and ride and travel I-485 to the airport. Route 591 Airport Connector – Archdale will pick up riders along the LYNX Blue Line at the Archdale, Tyvola and Woodlawn transit stations. For security reasons, no 24-hour parking will be permitted at the park and ride lots as this service is designed to primarily accommodate employees and travelers who are dropped off at the bus stop. “We’re pleased to see this new employee and passenger transit option and encourage the public to try the Airport Connector” said Haley Gentry, Airport Business Affairs Director. “This is a creative alternative, particularly during a busy time of significant expansion and roadway construction at the airport.” Buses will run every 30 minutes between the hours of 5 a.m. and midnight seven days a week. One-way cash fare is $2.75. The fare will increase to $3.00 one-way on July 1. CATS also offers weekly, monthly and 10-ride passes for frequent riders. Schedule and fare information can be found on CATS’ website at www.ridetransit.org or by calling 704-336-7433. The new transportation service is hardly as robust as service from our Nation's Capital via Metro to Reagan National Airport and Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport via Amtrak or Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) or to Newark International Airport via Amtrak or New Jersey Transit and the lack of 24 hour park and ride will constrain some passengers and employees (those who do not have the means to be dropped off at the bus stop) but it is a start. On a positive note, it can be fed into by existing LYNX service.

Edna Chirico and Transportation Consulting: Screening for Problems on Airliners Is Not Simple

Green Moose Consulting has expertise in a myriad form of transportation modes whether they be light rail to University City; trucks on the highways; intercity passenger trains; or regional or national airlines. My specialty or rather specialties in those areas in advising Edna Chirico are in the areas of security - often counterterrorism but also in dealing with other threats to the supply chain and passengers. Several recent incidents during the past couple of weeks have raised concerns about aviation security, known to professionals in the field as “AVSEC.” The subject that has been highlighted is that of screening of passengers under the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 17 of the 1944 Chicago Convention. As a preface and disclaimer I will warn that in this blog I will not consider commentary from those trolls who maintain that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners are “goons” or “storm troopers” for violating their constitutional rights. Actually, our government with the approval of the Senate and the Supreme Court has determined that our Constitutional rights regarding reasonable search are respected by Annex 17 of the 1944 Chicago Convention which established the International Civil Aviation Organization or ICAO which is the UN organization which establishes international law for civil aviation. Annex 17 provides the basis for security against civil aviation crime and terrorism, and our TSA writes our screening and other regulatory rules to adhere to those requirements. So, get in step with the rest of the civilized world. Aircrew, such as pilots and flight attendants, are subject to the same rules as passengers. The challenges that we face are international in nature and last Tuesday morning I commented in Spanish on Radio Mambi Channel 710, part of the Univision Network, about a recent incident in Switzerland that actually started unfloding inthe Horn of Africa. We observed that screening is only part of the AVSEC shield. A co-pilot on an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound from Addis Abba, Ethiopia’s capital for Rome hijacked the Boeing 787 airliner early Monday morning and flew it to Geneva, Switzerland, looking for asylum. The co-pilot went through the same screening the rest of the crew and passengers did. According to CNN, n Monday's incident, Flight 702 had taken off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and was headed to Rome, the airline said. The co-pilot took control of the plane when the pilot went to the restroom, said Swiss police spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt. The co-pilot, closed the fortified door, police said. Instead of Rome, he then steered the plane toward Geneva. At one point, as the plane hovered over Geneva's airspace several times, he asked the control tower: "And you have to give us lastly permission on board for asylum." "Yes I know," the tower responded. "Sorry, but we are still waiting for the response. We are trying our best to get you the response, sir. Eventually, the plane landed at Geneva International Airport. "I will be coming out via the window," the co-pilot told the control tower. He then escaped through the cockpit window using a rope, (such “ropes” are standard escape equipment in most airliner cockpits) and surrendered to police, Brandt said. He was unarmed, authorities said. "His act has been motivated by the fact that he feels threatened in his county and wants to make an asylum claim in Switzerland," Swiss police spokesman Philippe Grangean said. The passengers were not threatened or put in danger, police said. This incident and an earlier attempted hijacking of a Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkov in Ukraine to Sochi, Russia but which actually continued fairly uneventfully to Istanbul, Turkey the intended destination have demonstrated the fact that screening of passengers through technical means such as x-rays and actual body searches is not an end all and is certainly not the only defense we have against attempts to interfere with or inflict terror on civil aviation. Screening is defined by Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention as: The application of technical or other means which are intended to identify and/or detect weapons, explosives or other dangerous devices, articles or substances which may be used to commit an act of unlawful interference. It should be clear that screening does not include such defensive means as interrogations, psychological profiling, or surveillance techniques commonly used by intelligence or law enforcement agencies. In the case of the Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot’s diverting the aircraft; screening would not have had any influence on the course of events. An airline pilot has the knowledge to take that type of action and there is little that can be done to prevent such behavior. This was also demonstrated in March 2012 when a JetBlue captain who was locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot and tackled by passengers March 27 after becoming erratic during flight. On Oct. 31, 1999, an Egyptair flight crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off Massachusetts after the co-pilot shut off the engines and dove, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. All 217 people aboard died. As for the fellow on the Pegasus Airlines flight, he had no explosives or other items that would have been revealed by screening. Alcohol consumption might have been a factor. There are no easy fixes to aviation security and preventing dangerous situations from developing on an aircraft. Unfortunately the media and the blogosphere are filled with so-called experts who do not have the combined aviation, law enforcement, intelligence, or legal expertise that needs to be brought to bear to face the challenges presented by terrorists, common criminals and simple unsafe practices. I have been fortunate to have been affiliated with the US Government and also with Safety and Security Instruction (SSI) and the International Air Transport Association in facilitating AVSEC training courses and practices. In the Carolinas I am associated with Edna Chirico and Green Moose Consulting in working with such organizations as SSI to bring the best in aviation – and all forms of transportation security to our clients and communities.

Interesting and Positive Development Regarding Charlotte Airport (CLT)

Top officials quietly urge airport compromise | CharlotteObserver.com

The creation of a commission would be a positive step in dealing with the contentious issue of governance of the Charlotte, North Carolina Airport.  Although it serves a region, it has been built; effectively operated and grown to be a global hub by the City of Charlotte.  What seems to be left out of this issue is the participation of adjacent South Carolina jurisdictions - the NY-NJ Port Authority, which operates regional airports (JFK, Newark, Teterboro and LaGuardia) in the New York area encompasses two state jurisdictions.  - Mark Carolla (Analyst, Pierce Pugliese & Carolla Air Analytics, LLC)

MIA gets black Lab Retrievers to help screen passengers - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

MIA gets black Lab Retrievers to help screen passengers - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.comhttp://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/03/3379700/mia-gets-black-lab-retrievers.html

The use of dogs adds another layer in security - it is random and is a factor that terrorists have to include in their penetration plans - The basic question they have to ask themselves is: "Do we feel lucky today about this target?"  Hopefully coming to an airport you use soon. 

One thing about the Boston Bombing on April 15th - terrorists do not necessarily look like people from the Middle East - and terrorists: radical jihadists; radical nationalists; and extremists come from areas such as Russia, the Balkans, Southeast Asia and here in the US.  These dogs should help deter and make airports a "harder target."

Secretary of Transportation nominee Foxx expected to be rail friendly - TRAINS Magazine

Secretary of Transportation nominee Foxx expected to be rail friendly - TRAINS Magazinehttp://trn.trains.com/Railroad%20News/News%20Wire/2013/04/Secretary%20of%20Transportation%20nominee%20Foxx%20expected%20to%20be%20rail%20friendly.aspx

A non-partisan news item I wrote as a Trains Magazine correspondent on April 30th on Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx's probable even handedness towards rail and intermodal transportation.  Certain Charlotte controversies might receive a national spotlight during the confirmation process and if Foxx is confirmed, at the cabinet level in national politics. - Mark Carolla