Airport Security: Privacy vs. Safety

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Since September 11, airline security throughout the United States has increased dramatically. But despite improved measures in everything from border patrol to airport screening, there have still been multiple attempted terrorist attacks aboard both domestic and international flights.

In December 2001, Richard Reid, also known as the shoe bomber, was wrestled to the ground by passengers and crew as he attempted to ignite an explosive device hidden in his shoe while aboard an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami. In 2007, passengers once again subdued a hijacker--this time a belligerent, gun-wielding man aboard a plane over the Canary Islands. In 2008, a Somali woman attempted to hijack an Air New Zealand flight and have it re-routed to Australia. Then, in November 2009, a group of armed men failed to hijack a flight over Somalia, thanks to a group of quick-thinking passengers.

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The most recent in-air threat happened December 25 when Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, attempted to detonate explosives sewn into his underwear while aboard a flight from Amsterdam to …