Thursday, December 16, 2010

Tisdale Got On The Plane How?


According to News Channel 14 Cedar Posts is wrong!

Delvonte Tisdale didn't climb a fence under the cover of darkness, he simply walked through the airport ducked out an unlocked door and climbed aboard a parked aircraft right under the noses of everyone.

While I think my answer is plausible, even understandable, this newest revelation might explain Jerry Orr's hubris attitude and no comment hunker down posture. This is the same curmudgeon who happily slammed the TSA right before Thanksgiving, giving countless on camera interviews.

From News Channel 14: "A teenager who stowed away in the wheel well of a plane gained access to the runway from inside Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, two sources with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.

The sources, who didn't want to be identified, work directly with the Transportation Security Administration. They said speculation Delvonte Tisdale breached security by getting through or over a perimeter fence is incorrect. Although the sources described how he accessed the plane, News 14 Carolina is choosing not to reveal that information for security reasons.

"That kind of security glitch raises a concern that somebody could do it with the intent to cause harm to people on the plane," said Dr. Cindy Combs, a UNC Charlotte professor who has assisted the Homeland Security Department on counter-terrorism for more than a decade.

Combs said it's very plausible Tisdale did get onto the tarmac by getting around security inside the airport. She said the incident sheds light on a lack of vigilance among those who work on the runway; they're required to watch out for and report anyone not wearing proper identification.

"Most of the breakdown is in, what we call 'operational breakdown,'" Combs said. "The people know theoretically what they're supposed to do, realistically, in a busy system, you're not going to check."

An airport spokesperson wouldn't comment on the open investigation, but did say this is the first time she's heard Tisdale went through the airport.

Airport officials are hoping to learn more about what happened. Aviation Director Jerry Orr asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police to assemble a task force to investigate the incident. It'll include CMPD officers, as well as federal authorities.


If true Cedar Posts is wrong and and security at Charlotte Douglas International is worse than I expected. In any case expect much finger pointing in the coming weeks.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cedar nice to call yourself out of getting it wrong, but I don't buy it.

Jerry Orr is just blowing smoke. I've seen the gates and the rusting fence its is a security nightmare!

JAT said...

If I was in local govt in Charlotte and wanted to re-direct attention away from a possible embarrassment or just muddy the waters, I'd go to News14's Aaron Mesmer in a heartbeat.

Easily the most credulous and fawning among CLT's reportage crew, Mesmer's account is more than a little sketchy -- claiming there was a CONSPIRACY -- a federal prison, pound-you-in-the-ass if you get caught CONSPIRACY -- to get Tisdale on the tarmac. For no good goddman reason other than he WANTED TO PROBABLY KILL HIMSELF in a wheel-well. But what exact conspiracy we cannot say.

My bullshit detector is going mad.

Having said that, let's not rule ANYTHING completely out. Maybe TSA at CLT is so loosey-goosey they dare each other to sneak teen-agers onto the tarmac for kicks. Could be.

I'm sure CMPD will knock it all out.

Rea Road Neighborhood Coalition said...

JAT You are so right!

This is Charlotte Government doing business as usual.

No accountability, no one in charge and no one is to blame.

They all will stand and render the bureaucratic salute (Crossing their arms and pointing at the person on either side.)and collect another bonus for a job well done.

JAT said...

Let's walk this back to a baseline:

Opportunity -- No one knows how Tisdale got to ANY part of the airport. Vid etc. should show interior, some exterior. If none -- ?? I'm stuck. Family, friends -- any hint of a ride to the facility? Opportunity -- unknown.

Means -- Mesmer and his two conspiracists at the airport claim TSA's internal controls failed, providing Tisdale secret access to a flight on the line for departure. It is impossible to validate this claim without more info. In addition, there are well documented lapses in the airport external security fencing. Given that Tisdale wound up on a flight to Boston rather than his previous home of Baltimore, it is difficult to sustain that he gained access via the terminal where flight info could be known -- only to end up on the wrong plane -- at the same time he defeated layers of TSA security by unknown means. This is a perfect-idiot-perfect problem. At one moment our suspect is perfect, the next an idiot depending on the needs of our theory.

Overall for means, fence breech has to edge out terminal failure until such time as sources provide definitive info on a terminal failure. Overall, means -- unknown.

Motive: Despite speculation, no motive exists for Tisdale's highly detailed, labor-intensive, near-certain suicide mission to leave Charlotte. Tens of thousands of teens get upset with their parents each year in the CLT area; this is the first US wheel-well stowaway in decades. There is a tremendous disconnect here. If could be that Tisdale's FIRST instinct to leave CLT would be to do so in a well-wheel of jet. Are how likely is that? Did previous attempts fail?

In all, motive -- unknown.

Anonymous said...

I have no doubt he could have walked through the airport and onto the tarmac, because in all reality I believe he know somebody who worked there and helped him!

JAT said...

Anon 5:55 --

The problem with the he-knew-someone theory is that you double your motive problem while trying to solve the means question.

Why would someone risk federal prison to smuggle a teen onto the tarmac? Money? How much could Tisdale possibly have had? Doesn't sound fruitful. But.

Smuggle. Inside. Anyone going this route has to entertain the idea that getting Tisdale inside a wheel-well was incidental to someone other smuggling operation at the airport. There you start to answer your motive question.

But to me that is just too far-fetched and complicated. Pursue the possibility by all means, but to me the logical way to go is that he came thru the fence.

Anonymous said...

Doesnt CMPD have a liason CPT, or above, assigned to the airport on a full time basis.? Where is the attempt to interview that person??.

Anonymous said...

The CMPD task force RoMo the brains, Vicki Foster to make sure only Christians are helped, Sherry Pearsal to take care of finances, Fant to keep notes, Sgt J. Blow to help the TSA feel up passengers, Hamlett Almendarez to order the "Fuel Pizza" Marcus Jackson to interview girls in the rest room.....

Who else shall we appoint to this all star task force?

Anonymous said...

Ah yes. He has arrived, large and in-charge. The Apostle Rodney Monroe (peace and blessings be upon him) will take charge of this investigation and drill down to get to the bottom of how this breach occurred. The Apostle Rodney Monroe (peace and blessings be upon him) has already delegated and appointed Deputy Chief’s Grrrr Putney and the puppet medlock to establish a presence at the airport. They are already consulting the Extra Stripe and ignoring other investigative means. Soon dots will sprout all over the airport. Once that is done The Apostle Rodney Monroe (peace and blessings be upon him) will declare case solved and all will be right with the world. Thank you Apostle Rodney Monroe (peace and blessings be upon him).

Rea Road Neighborhood Coalition said...

Good discussion JAT.

Question if Tisdale was in the terminal, where is the least secure area? Baggage claim from my observation over the year.

At KCLT it is rare that anyone is on hand during the 8PM push and your six inches from complete access if you count the wall or a rubber curtian away if you follow my thinking

Next question, what gate did the flight to Logan depart? My money says upfront parking.

Next question, how did he get to the airport? Again my money says easy to check answer, the CATS bus to uptown, then to the airport.

Still I'm thinking through the fence, as well. But if security is that poor why are we all bending over for the required body grab and feel?