With all the airport security , what about the plane

[blues90]

Really , I have not heard the planes are safe before people board them . Was not this an issue just after Sept 11 2001 . The memory hole may have got a good part of me while I try to push through the waste deep information that is actually spinning like a sprout up of hundreds of tiny tornados we all wonder through in search of some truth .

Somewhere in the depths of my depleted mind and spurts of daily and nighttime domestic fear I do recall doors being left open and planes sitting unlocked , I have visions of box-cutter armed shoe bombers with a zippo riding in luggage carts or food containers loaded right out of the hell's kitchen airport food pump and delivered right to their seats without so much as a raised eye brow .

I read the security guards for the most part at that time had a background of crime but would work for a cheap wage although they had trouble staying awake .

So I have to wonder since I have not heard if any of this has changed either for better or worse , have you ? I am betting on worse since this seems to be the wave of the future . Buy now pay later , this is a scary term , it can mean anything , pay later with what , your life , as in pay dearly later or does this only apply to no payments until November .

I read our air craft maintainence and repair was now outsourced , who does the road test ? Where are the tires made , is the air filling the tires safe or is it high in rubber depleating pollutents , is it explosive , are they re-treads ? Who fills the tanks , is it now self serve or full service and where does the jet fuel come from ?

These are just a few of the questions I have to ask myself before worrying if I had a water supply or the lap-top and Ipod charged up .

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. As to the planes:

Most airlines still use in-house mechanics for what are called line checks (routine inspections and repairs). Even work that is outsourced must be performed by FAA-licensed mechanics using FAA-approved parts and procedures, and is subject to regular inspection. Tires are checked for excessive wear before every flight. Anyone who works in airline operations or at an airport has to have undergone a 10-year background check -- this includes baggage handlers, refuelers and caterers as well as pilots and flight attendants. Access to airport ramp areas is limited to authorized personnel who have undergone additional security screening. Jet fuel has to be a specific type called Jet-A, and there's no such thing as self-serve. The whole operation is very heavily regulated. I have no doubt that there are flaws in the system, since no system can ever be foolproof, but there are also many safeguards -- it's far from as loose as you seem to be worrying about.