00:05
My name is Tim. I work for American Airlines Security.I'll talk about your safety and the safety of your flight.00:13For three months, I've been a security agent at Brussels Airport. I check passengers of American airlinesand stop anyone who seems suspicious.
00:24
I look for suspicious items on American planesand I have unlimited access to restricted areas at the airport. For three months, I'll be filming with a hidden camera.Nobody asks me anything. I'll try to get a fake bomb
00:45
Quote wannes
They give you the idea that you are checked.But the passengers don't see what happens on the plane.If the passengers were to know, they would feel a lot less safe.
FADE TO BLACK
01:05
Since the attacks of 9/11 security measures in airports have become stricter. These are the terrorists that nearly two hours later crash flight 77 into the Pentagon.
01:27
Security has tightened at Brussels Airport too.United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines hire security agents from Securair, a Belgian company.They have to search their planes and guard them day and night.01:46The beginning of January 2004. Securair is in constant need of agents. I'm applying for a job. I use my own name and address.But my studies and job references are false.02:02I mention four companies. I have never worked for.The next day, I'm invited to an interview.02:20I'm here for a job interview.-Go straight through to reception. They'll help you.02:31There is a psychological test first. Afterwardsmy application is screened. From the first interview, I filmL1N03 everything with a hidden camera.02:41You graduated in 2001, from October 2001 to December,administrative worker at Ford Genk. I was an errand boy, a handyman, small jobs, writing letters, that sort of thing.Then I signed a contract at Philips. But it was laterdeclared bankrupt... It was a temporary contract,for one year. But it ended early because of the bankruptcy.From March 2003 until the end of last year, you worked as a temp.At Luminus, I was a call-agent. At Borealis, I only worked threeweeks, that was temporary too. What did you do there ?- Secretarial work. En after that ?- Ford Lommel.Test course...- Testing cars.03:38There are three interviews, but my references aren't checked.I become a security agent for American flights.03:46Soundbite I bring in my contract.03:55By signing the contract, I give Securair permissionto screen my past. No one asks me anythingabout me being a journalist, although every agent must stateif he has a second job. No one has phonedmy supposed employers.04:10QuoteHe has the contract. Sit down.Thank you.My file is complete, you have signed.You can start to work.When you hand in this paper, you will be given your uniform.I'm here to pick up my clothes.-Have you tried them on ?Last week, yes.Okay... Yes. Thank you.04:43A strict screening of the staff is necessary.A year and a half ago, an Algerian was arrestedat Charles de Gaulle airport.He was preparing an attack.He had access to the restricted areas, just as I had.The terrorist hadn't been screened properly.05:02This is almost impossible at Brussels Airport,says BIAC, the operating company.05:11Quote BIAC Jan Van Der CruysseThousands of people work here. You can be very thoroughin the screening of employees, as we are,but you can never be sure. You can avoid those problemsto a large extent by checking the employees like we check all the other people in the airport. Employeesas well as passengers.05:34But I become a security agent without any problem.I get 4 weeks' training. It is stressed that the staff arethe weakest link in the security.05:48Quote We always have a background check. It is done before you get your badge. After all that's happened, they do it more and more.We think you're bona fide. But you can never be 100% sure,you're never sure. If something happens, it's done with help from inside.06:17The Belgian State Security confirmsthat they screen everyone who works at the airport.06:24 quote Koen Dassen, Belgian State SecurityScreening is done of people that work in the airport's hot spots.But... - Such as ?People who work on the tarmac, people who have easy accessto potentially dangerous areas. I'm not going to go into that.But there is no legal basis regarding this matter.We have to take general safety into account,but also the safety and the rights of the individual.A security agent who works around American airplanesis more likely to be screened than a cook, I assume.That is not a good example. There are strict regulationsregarding security agents, issued by the Home Secretary.They are subject to a screening as dictated by the Home Secretary.Otherwise you can't become a security agent.Why ? Because this man or woman has the right to limityour own civil liberties. He can investigate you, he can prevent youfrom boarding the plane, he can search you.That's why we have to know they are 100% trustworthy.07:46It is also provided for in the Home Secretary's legislation.The American government obliges every agent to follow a special course. It includes company secrets regarding security techniques. Disclosure may be punished by imprisonment.I learn to interrogate passengers, but also about terrorismand explosives. I have to pay extra attention to electrical appliances that may conceal a bomb.08:12QuoteWhat are blacklisted items ? They are items in which bombs were built but have never been found.This is... It was used to blow up thePan Am airplane over Lockerbie. There are three of them.One was found, one was used to blow the plane up,and we don't know where the third is.08:37After a 2-week course and tests every day, I'm chosen to work for American Airlines. But it could have been any other American company.08:49After a few weeks, I notice the turnover of staff is high.I get to know Wannes. He quits after having workedfor one year as a security agent.09:00Quote wannesAfter 9/11 the safety has drastically improved, they say.But if you work there, you notice a lot of things still go wrong.When you travel by plane, you want to be safe.09:15According to Wannes, The staff are the weakest link. Most agents see it as a temporary job, until they find something better.09:24Quote WannesThere is a large turnover of staff. You start off with twenty people,and you end up with five. The turnover could be as high as five per month, because they weren't motivated at all.I don't think Brussels Airport is safe. Because the security companyworks with people who are disinterested, unmotivated.They don't do their job properly, and you get a degreeof nonchalance, people doing what they want.09:56There are hundreds of former employees in Belgiumwho know the airport through and through. Such as Michael.He has a responsible job. But, like, Wannes, he quitsafter a year and a half. Terrorists could make good useof his knowledge.10:16Quote MichaelAfter a few months, you know everything. Then you know...how you can get in without being checked. Because security is your work, you often think... about these things. What if someone goes that way and delivers a package ?That's what you fear. It could happen.10:45sound tower10:53Mid April. I've been working at the airport for four weeks.My cover hasn't been blown yet. I keep on filming with my hidden camera. Each morning, I receive a security briefing and a schedule.11:08QuoteGood morning. Nick, Dries, Michaël, Tim and Colin,you are at the check-in, Geraldine is observer.11:19Every day, I check passports and tickets and I interrogate passengers about their trip to the US. I was trained to stop suspects and discover possible terrorists. Morocco is on my list of suspicious countries. 11:33What was the purpose of your trip to Morocco? Tourism.- Where did you stay ?All over.I don't understand why you need receipts from where I was in Morocco. Just standard procedure, sir. That's all.11:49Two weeks after my training, I work on my own.I have to report suspicious passengers.11:55The next day, 6 a.m.11:58For the first time, I will try to smuggle a camerainto the secured staff area. The camera is a metal box, wired.Not an accessory for a security agent. I have to get past a metal detector and a scanner, checkpoints I go through every day.12:19I'm on the way to the agents' meeting point. It is next to the luggage room where all the luggage is handled. This room leads to the tarmac. There is one checkpoint. There's a camera in here, metal, wires, it looks like a bomb. If they discover it, it's over.ambiance13:06Quote (in background)What's in there ? Something special ??13:10My colleague has seen a metal object. And she hears a strange buzz. I close down the camera.13:20My bag goes through the scanner once again.But it is not opened, I can go without further explanation.13:26And more than once. I will get past a metal detector six times.No one asks me about the strange items in my bag.13:35In the luggage room I notice it would be easy to conceal a bomb in a suitcase. As a security agent, I am free to go anywhere..(FADE TO BLACK)The tarmac is only metres away.13:50Every day, two American Airlines flights fly to the States.There are extra security agents for luggage, catering and cargo. Each American plane is constantly guarded and searched. The American airlines take no risks.14:08But according to Michael, only a feeling of safety is created.14:13Quote michael I know that security is not good. They didn't feel like working.I'm talking about, for example... the searching of the plane.0218 : 10:14:25:18,10:14:28:13,1080 80 80 Everyone must write down what he has done.Some people said they'd done something they hadn't done.This could be a locker that hadn't been searched.If someone puts something in it that day,it will not be found.14:46I am tested every month, like all security agents.Controllers hide items at the check-in and on planes.But these tests are ridiculous.14:57quote We are tested on a regular basis. But we always know when,because we know... The person who does the test is around.Then we know there will be a test that day.We search until we find the things, then they can't hold anythingagainst us.15:19I am convinced it's not difficult to smuggle a bomb aboard.In the Pan Am over Lockerbie, only 350 grams of Semtexkilled 270 passengers. Semtex contains no metal. It goesright through the checkpoints.15:38Professor Filip Verplaetsen says a Semtex bomb is easy to make.15:44Quote Filip verplaetsen, expert You need explosives, like Semtex or C4.You need a detonator. The detonator causes the explosives to ignite.The detonator is placed in the explosives.You need an power source, a 9 Volt battery, for example.This power source supplies the energy which causes the detonator to explode.Then the detonator causes this parcel to explode.You can operate it manually, but then you die too in the attack,or you use a remote control.They used the second technique in the attacks in Madrid.There they used a cellular phone to make contactbetween the battery and the detonator.16:39I want to know whether it is possible today to get a bombaboard an American plane. I take a fake bomb. I substitute Semtex with plasticine.17:00QuoteAs for appearance, structure and kneadability, Semtex is quite similar to plasticine. If you show up at Brussels Airport with a parcel like that, you will alarm a lot of people.17:15I'm carrying plasticine, a cellular phone, wires and a camera.17:32But, for the sixth time, no one checks what's in my bag.17:52stand upI'm back at Brussels Airport, behind the first checkpoint.I smuggled in almost 1 kilo plasticine, and a cellular phone,which can activate the bomb.18:07We asked BIAC how thorough the staff are checked.18:12Quote biacBoth employees and passengers are checked.Some airports had a separate staff entrance,sometimes without a checkpoint.In Brussels it has never been that way.Employees are subject to the same check.Nothing gets past the checkpoint without checking.18:36The day I get the fake bomb past the checkpoint,I know I have to check Catering. Thousands of meals are prepared here, for all passengers and all airlines. merican airlines included.18:53Quote wannesOnce you're in, there's no checkpoint anymore. Only your badge is checked. You can take anything you want with you. That's no problem.19:07I drive to Catering with my colleagues. I haven't been checked since this morning.19:15I'll film everything with my cellular phone, although it is strictly forbidden in these areas.I'm still carrying the fake bomb.19:27There are about 40 trolleys with meals for the flight to New York.19:33I'm alone.I have to check the trolleys and seal them afterwards.I am the last link in the chain.19:44I take out my fake bomb and put it in one of the trolleys.I put my cellular phone next to it.19:53No one has seen anything.19:57I now know it is possible to smuggle a bomb aboard.To avoid panic during the flight, I take the parcelout of the trolley.20:07The trolleys are loaded onto a truckand are brought aboard, under my supervision.20:15They will be opened during the flight.20:19By that time I would have called my cellular phoneAnd the bomb would have exploded.20:32Two days later I hand in my resignation. No one asks me why.20:40I've worked in the restricted areas for three months,because no one checked the references I had made up.20:45The fact that I am a professional journalist was never revealed.20:49I was able to smuggle in forbidden items up to six times,past every checkpoint.20:56I know all the security's weaknesses.21:03It is quite impossible for passengers to commit an attack.But the system fails if the enemy is already on the inside.
My name is Tim. I work for American Airlines Security.I'll talk about your safety and the safety of your flight.00:13For three months, I've been a security agent at Brussels Airport. I check passengers of American airlinesand stop anyone who seems suspicious.
00:24
I look for suspicious items on American planesand I have unlimited access to restricted areas at the airport. For three months, I'll be filming with a hidden camera.Nobody asks me anything. I'll try to get a fake bomb
00:45
Quote wannes
They give you the idea that you are checked.But the passengers don't see what happens on the plane.If the passengers were to know, they would feel a lot less safe.
FADE TO BLACK
01:05
Since the attacks of 9/11 security measures in airports have become stricter. These are the terrorists that nearly two hours later crash flight 77 into the Pentagon.
01:27
Security has tightened at Brussels Airport too.United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines hire security agents from Securair, a Belgian company.They have to search their planes and guard them day and night.01:46The beginning of January 2004. Securair is in constant need of agents. I'm applying for a job. I use my own name and address.But my studies and job references are false.02:02I mention four companies. I have never worked for.The next day, I'm invited to an interview.02:20I'm here for a job interview.-Go straight through to reception. They'll help you.02:31There is a psychological test first. Afterwardsmy application is screened. From the first interview, I filmL1N03 everything with a hidden camera.02:41You graduated in 2001, from October 2001 to December,administrative worker at Ford Genk. I was an errand boy, a handyman, small jobs, writing letters, that sort of thing.Then I signed a contract at Philips. But it was laterdeclared bankrupt... It was a temporary contract,for one year. But it ended early because of the bankruptcy.From March 2003 until the end of last year, you worked as a temp.At Luminus, I was a call-agent. At Borealis, I only worked threeweeks, that was temporary too. What did you do there ?- Secretarial work. En after that ?- Ford Lommel.Test course...- Testing cars.03:38There are three interviews, but my references aren't checked.I become a security agent for American flights.03:46Soundbite I bring in my contract.03:55By signing the contract, I give Securair permissionto screen my past. No one asks me anythingabout me being a journalist, although every agent must stateif he has a second job. No one has phonedmy supposed employers.04:10QuoteHe has the contract. Sit down.Thank you.My file is complete, you have signed.You can start to work.When you hand in this paper, you will be given your uniform.I'm here to pick up my clothes.-Have you tried them on ?Last week, yes.Okay... Yes. Thank you.04:43A strict screening of the staff is necessary.A year and a half ago, an Algerian was arrestedat Charles de Gaulle airport.He was preparing an attack.He had access to the restricted areas, just as I had.The terrorist hadn't been screened properly.05:02This is almost impossible at Brussels Airport,says BIAC, the operating company.05:11Quote BIAC Jan Van Der CruysseThousands of people work here. You can be very thoroughin the screening of employees, as we are,but you can never be sure. You can avoid those problemsto a large extent by checking the employees like we check all the other people in the airport. Employeesas well as passengers.05:34But I become a security agent without any problem.I get 4 weeks' training. It is stressed that the staff arethe weakest link in the security.05:48Quote We always have a background check. It is done before you get your badge. After all that's happened, they do it more and more.We think you're bona fide. But you can never be 100% sure,you're never sure. If something happens, it's done with help from inside.06:17The Belgian State Security confirmsthat they screen everyone who works at the airport.06:24 quote Koen Dassen, Belgian State SecurityScreening is done of people that work in the airport's hot spots.But... - Such as ?People who work on the tarmac, people who have easy accessto potentially dangerous areas. I'm not going to go into that.But there is no legal basis regarding this matter.We have to take general safety into account,but also the safety and the rights of the individual.A security agent who works around American airplanesis more likely to be screened than a cook, I assume.That is not a good example. There are strict regulationsregarding security agents, issued by the Home Secretary.They are subject to a screening as dictated by the Home Secretary.Otherwise you can't become a security agent.Why ? Because this man or woman has the right to limityour own civil liberties. He can investigate you, he can prevent youfrom boarding the plane, he can search you.That's why we have to know they are 100% trustworthy.07:46It is also provided for in the Home Secretary's legislation.The American government obliges every agent to follow a special course. It includes company secrets regarding security techniques. Disclosure may be punished by imprisonment.I learn to interrogate passengers, but also about terrorismand explosives. I have to pay extra attention to electrical appliances that may conceal a bomb.08:12QuoteWhat are blacklisted items ? They are items in which bombs were built but have never been found.This is... It was used to blow up thePan Am airplane over Lockerbie. There are three of them.One was found, one was used to blow the plane up,and we don't know where the third is.08:37After a 2-week course and tests every day, I'm chosen to work for American Airlines. But it could have been any other American company.08:49After a few weeks, I notice the turnover of staff is high.I get to know Wannes. He quits after having workedfor one year as a security agent.09:00Quote wannesAfter 9/11 the safety has drastically improved, they say.But if you work there, you notice a lot of things still go wrong.When you travel by plane, you want to be safe.09:15According to Wannes, The staff are the weakest link. Most agents see it as a temporary job, until they find something better.09:24Quote WannesThere is a large turnover of staff. You start off with twenty people,and you end up with five. The turnover could be as high as five per month, because they weren't motivated at all.I don't think Brussels Airport is safe. Because the security companyworks with people who are disinterested, unmotivated.They don't do their job properly, and you get a degreeof nonchalance, people doing what they want.09:56There are hundreds of former employees in Belgiumwho know the airport through and through. Such as Michael.He has a responsible job. But, like, Wannes, he quitsafter a year and a half. Terrorists could make good useof his knowledge.10:16Quote MichaelAfter a few months, you know everything. Then you know...how you can get in without being checked. Because security is your work, you often think... about these things. What if someone goes that way and delivers a package ?That's what you fear. It could happen.10:45sound tower10:53Mid April. I've been working at the airport for four weeks.My cover hasn't been blown yet. I keep on filming with my hidden camera. Each morning, I receive a security briefing and a schedule.11:08QuoteGood morning. Nick, Dries, Michaël, Tim and Colin,you are at the check-in, Geraldine is observer.11:19Every day, I check passports and tickets and I interrogate passengers about their trip to the US. I was trained to stop suspects and discover possible terrorists. Morocco is on my list of suspicious countries. 11:33What was the purpose of your trip to Morocco? Tourism.- Where did you stay ?All over.I don't understand why you need receipts from where I was in Morocco. Just standard procedure, sir. That's all.11:49Two weeks after my training, I work on my own.I have to report suspicious passengers.11:55The next day, 6 a.m.11:58For the first time, I will try to smuggle a camerainto the secured staff area. The camera is a metal box, wired.Not an accessory for a security agent. I have to get past a metal detector and a scanner, checkpoints I go through every day.12:19I'm on the way to the agents' meeting point. It is next to the luggage room where all the luggage is handled. This room leads to the tarmac. There is one checkpoint. There's a camera in here, metal, wires, it looks like a bomb. If they discover it, it's over.ambiance13:06Quote (in background)What's in there ? Something special ??13:10My colleague has seen a metal object. And she hears a strange buzz. I close down the camera.13:20My bag goes through the scanner once again.But it is not opened, I can go without further explanation.13:26And more than once. I will get past a metal detector six times.No one asks me about the strange items in my bag.13:35In the luggage room I notice it would be easy to conceal a bomb in a suitcase. As a security agent, I am free to go anywhere..(FADE TO BLACK)The tarmac is only metres away.13:50Every day, two American Airlines flights fly to the States.There are extra security agents for luggage, catering and cargo. Each American plane is constantly guarded and searched. The American airlines take no risks.14:08But according to Michael, only a feeling of safety is created.14:13Quote michael I know that security is not good. They didn't feel like working.I'm talking about, for example... the searching of the plane.0218 : 10:14:25:18,10:14:28:13,1080 80 80 Everyone must write down what he has done.Some people said they'd done something they hadn't done.This could be a locker that hadn't been searched.If someone puts something in it that day,it will not be found.14:46I am tested every month, like all security agents.Controllers hide items at the check-in and on planes.But these tests are ridiculous.14:57quote We are tested on a regular basis. But we always know when,because we know... The person who does the test is around.Then we know there will be a test that day.We search until we find the things, then they can't hold anythingagainst us.15:19I am convinced it's not difficult to smuggle a bomb aboard.In the Pan Am over Lockerbie, only 350 grams of Semtexkilled 270 passengers. Semtex contains no metal. It goesright through the checkpoints.15:38Professor Filip Verplaetsen says a Semtex bomb is easy to make.15:44Quote Filip verplaetsen, expert You need explosives, like Semtex or C4.You need a detonator. The detonator causes the explosives to ignite.The detonator is placed in the explosives.You need an power source, a 9 Volt battery, for example.This power source supplies the energy which causes the detonator to explode.Then the detonator causes this parcel to explode.You can operate it manually, but then you die too in the attack,or you use a remote control.They used the second technique in the attacks in Madrid.There they used a cellular phone to make contactbetween the battery and the detonator.16:39I want to know whether it is possible today to get a bombaboard an American plane. I take a fake bomb. I substitute Semtex with plasticine.17:00QuoteAs for appearance, structure and kneadability, Semtex is quite similar to plasticine. If you show up at Brussels Airport with a parcel like that, you will alarm a lot of people.17:15I'm carrying plasticine, a cellular phone, wires and a camera.17:32But, for the sixth time, no one checks what's in my bag.17:52stand upI'm back at Brussels Airport, behind the first checkpoint.I smuggled in almost 1 kilo plasticine, and a cellular phone,which can activate the bomb.18:07We asked BIAC how thorough the staff are checked.18:12Quote biacBoth employees and passengers are checked.Some airports had a separate staff entrance,sometimes without a checkpoint.In Brussels it has never been that way.Employees are subject to the same check.Nothing gets past the checkpoint without checking.18:36The day I get the fake bomb past the checkpoint,I know I have to check Catering. Thousands of meals are prepared here, for all passengers and all airlines. merican airlines included.18:53Quote wannesOnce you're in, there's no checkpoint anymore. Only your badge is checked. You can take anything you want with you. That's no problem.19:07I drive to Catering with my colleagues. I haven't been checked since this morning.19:15I'll film everything with my cellular phone, although it is strictly forbidden in these areas.I'm still carrying the fake bomb.19:27There are about 40 trolleys with meals for the flight to New York.19:33I'm alone.I have to check the trolleys and seal them afterwards.I am the last link in the chain.19:44I take out my fake bomb and put it in one of the trolleys.I put my cellular phone next to it.19:53No one has seen anything.19:57I now know it is possible to smuggle a bomb aboard.To avoid panic during the flight, I take the parcelout of the trolley.20:07The trolleys are loaded onto a truckand are brought aboard, under my supervision.20:15They will be opened during the flight.20:19By that time I would have called my cellular phoneAnd the bomb would have exploded.20:32Two days later I hand in my resignation. No one asks me why.20:40I've worked in the restricted areas for three months,because no one checked the references I had made up.20:45The fact that I am a professional journalist was never revealed.20:49I was able to smuggle in forbidden items up to six times,past every checkpoint.20:56I know all the security's weaknesses.21:03It is quite impossible for passengers to commit an attack.But the system fails if the enemy is already on the inside.