On this day in history . . .This from the Van Nuys, California, Valley News on Thursday, July 22, 1971:

“747 Rams Window at Airport [title]

[complete article]

“An American Airlines Boeing 747 jetliner plowed through a plate glass window at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday when it advanced too far into the passenger loading area.

            An airline spokesman said there were no injuries in the incident which occurred shortly after noon.

            The spokesman said Flight 11 had just arrived from Boston with 165 passengers on board when it crashed through the ...   more »

Almost five years after September 11, 2001, the book titled Aviation Insecurity, by aviation security analyst Andrew Thomas (Prometheus Books, Amherst NY), published in 2003, is only getting more timely.

Some books don’t wear well over time, but every passing year, and virtually every passing month, further corroborates Thomas’s discussion and analysis of our lack of aviation security before 9/11 – and now.

Reading successive chapters about the FAA (“The Culture of Compromise”), the actions of the White House and a GOP-dominated Congress immediately after 9/11 (“The Great Bailout”), and the creation of new layers of ...   more »