Airports reveal security breaches .

Five UK airports have reported more than 1,100 potentially dangerous safety and security incidents during 2007.
The BBC obtained figures for Glasgow, Belfast International, Manchester, Birmingham and London Heathrow.
All incidents which did or could have endangered an aircraft or its occupants must be formally recorded.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the severity of reported events
varies, and warns against drawing conclusions from a 'simple
assessment' of numbers.

There are just under a million commercial flights through the five airports every year.
At risk
Following a request from the BBC under the Freedom of
Information Act, the CAA revealed that there were more than 1,100
Mandatory Occurrence Reports during the 12 month period.
These record incidents which either put passengers, crew and aircraft at risk or which would have done so without correction.There were 67 security breaches - both passenger and baggage related -
ten of which involved planes being left unattended and unlocked.
On seven occasions, passengers were able to get through departure gates without their boarding passes being checked.
In one case at Heathrow, a group with tickets to Singapore
boarded a flight to Mumbai. The mistake only came to light when one
passenger found someone else in what he believed to be his seat.
Dangerous goods
The bulk of the 67 security incidents involved the
transportation of dangerous goods - sometimes found to be corrosive and
flammable liquids.
One individual managed to board a plane despite having a gas
cylinder in their hand luggage. Other dangerous goods were not secured
properly in the hold, leaked or were left on the plane from the
previous flight.
In another case at Heathrow from January last year, a drum-shaped
container toppled over in the hold and high pressure gas escaped. It
turned out to be undeclared bacterial stock, surrounded by liquid
nitrogen.
It is not known whether any of these incidents were deliberate security breaches.
'In denial'
In addition, there were 40 reports of unidentified oil smells
onboard planes. One Heathrow crew had experienced throat irritation and
light headedness, another suffered headaches, and pilots on a separate
flight had to put on oxygen masks because of strong oil fumes.
David Learmount of Flight International magazine was surprised at this figure. He told The Donal MacIntyre programme that he believes the industry needs to address the problem:
"The fumes can be toxic. The airline industry is in denial about the issue.
"Not all fume events are harmful, but if you feel odd or ill in
anyway in the next couple of days after a flight, then go straight to
your doctor and get a blood test."
There were also 49 reports of 'altitude deviation' during 2007, where
planes flew at the wrong height as a result of air traffic control
mistakes, pilot error, faults with equipment, or adverse weather
conditions.
The minimum vertical separation is 1,000 feet. If two aircraft are less than 700 feet apart, then the event must be reported.
Aviation expert David Learmount said any case of incorrect altitude levels is worrying:
"Deviation in altitude is a big issue, and it happens far too often.
"But, here in the UK, the authorities are well aware of it, and
are world-leaders in creating greater awareness of the risks among
pilots and air traffic controllers."
One pilot on a Glasgow flight queried the plane's clearance to
descend because of concern about altitude. It emerged that the Air
Traffic Control and the crew were using different charts, with
different Minimum Safe Altitudes.
Lack of comparison
Some of the safety incidents revealed by the CAA were entirely
avoidable. One seems to have arisen as a result of the pilot bringing a
packed lunch into the cockpit.
It was reported that a small round object rolled out from under
the pedals which had been causing "restriction to the rudder control".
It turned out to be a plum. On another flight, the offending object in
the plane mechanism was a jar of jam.
There are no publicly available figures for safety and security incidents at the five airports in question for previous years.
It is not clear whether crew or passenger safety was seriously put at risk, but the CAA told the BBC:
"Over two million commercial flights operate in UK airspace every year, while Heathrow handled over 477,000 flights.
"It must be noted that the occurrence reports filed will vary
greatly in their severity, and therefore conclusions cannot be drawn
from a simple assessment of the number of occurrences for a set
subject."



From BBC News...


Unbelievable would you be happy flying with all this going on ?