The immediate mission of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) after the Sept. 11 attacks was to enhance security aboard airplanes and restore confidence in the safety of air travel. The FAA is leading bold government and industry efforts to enhance aircraft security, including the design and installation of cockpit doors, surveillance systems to alert crews of activity in the cabin, and upgrading of transponders to ensure continuous operation.

Prior to Sept. 11, the FAA was working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to strengthen international security standards for airplanes.The FAA’s new flight deck door standards expedite the work of an Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) working group that was tasked in 1999 to develop harmonized security-related design.

Immediate Actions Following Sept. 11.

In response to President Bush’s call for increased aircraft security following the Sept. 11 attacks, the FAA cut through red tape and the airlines made extraordinary efforts to quickly reinforce cockpit doors.  The nature of the security threat called for an innovative approach by both government and industry.

• On Sept. 16, 2001, Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta formed a Rapid Response Team on Aircraft Security to determine actions to improve security onboard airplanes. 
• In early October 2001, the team issued a report that recommended that airlines reinforce existing cockpit doors and expedite the design, production and installation of new doors.
• On Oct. 9, 2001,the FAA published the first of a series of Special Federal Aviation Regulations (SFARs) to expedite the modification of cockpit doors in the U.S. fleet. This “Phase I” fix included installation of steel bars and locking devices.
• The FAA determined that the security risk outweighed the safety risks associated with the Phase I fix. The FAA granted short-term relief from certain airworthiness requirements related to how the door performs during an aviation safety emergency, such as an unlikely rapid decompression. 
• Given the security threat, the FAA allowed the installation of the Phase I fix knowing that new hardened doors would be designed that meet both the original FAA safety requirements and new security standards.
• The long-term or “Phase II” fix must meet all current FAA design standards.
• The major U.S. airlines voluntarily modified the cockpit doors on 4,000 airplanes within the first 45 days of the SFAR. By January, 98 percent of the airlines had voluntarily installed a Phase I fix. By March 1, the major U.S. airlines completed installation of cockpit door modifications on all U.S. airplanes.

A Congressional Mandate
On Nov. 19, 2001, the U.S. Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which directs the FAA to take action to improve airplane security both immediately and in the long-term. The law gives the FAA the authority to carry out the ATSA's directives. 

• The ATSA required that “as soon as possible” the FAA prohibit unauthorized access to the airplane cockpit, control authorized access to the cockpit, require strengthening of the cockpit door and door locks to ensure that the door cannot be forced open from the passenger cabin, require that flight deck doors remain locked during flight, and prohibit the possession of a key to the cockpit door by anyone not assigned to the cockpit.
• The ATSA also required that the FAA evaluate the installation of video monitoring systems, crew alerting systems, and continuously operating transponders.

New Standards for Cockpit Doors

On Jan. 10, the FAA published new standards to protect cockpits from intrusion and small-arms fire or fragmentation devices, such as grenades. The rule requires U.S. operators of as many as 7,000 airplanes to install reinforced doors by April 9, 2003.

• The FAA rule sets new design and performance standards for all current and future airplanes with 20 or more seats in commercial service and all cargo airplanes that have cockpit doors.
• Specifically, the new doors must be strengthened while meeting existing FAA safety requirements. The doors will remain locked, cockpit access privileges will be controlled, and possession of keys to the cockpit by crewmembers not assigned to the cockpit will be prohibited.
• Concurrent with the Jan. 10 rule, the FAA also issued a revised SFAR requiring operators to install temporary internal locking devices within 45 days on all passenger airplanes and cargo airplanes that have cockpit doors. At that time, about 98 percent of the airlines had already voluntarily installed a Phase
  1 temporary fix.

Foreign Air Carriers

In February, the FAA led efforts at ICAO’s High-Level Ministerial Conference On Aviation Security in Montreal that resulted in the adoption of a worldwide standard for cockpit doors and provisions for monitoring the passenger cabin from the cockpit. ICAO set a deadline of November 2003 for installing new
doors, seven months after the deadline for U.S. carriers. 

• On June 19, the FAA published a final rule requiring foreign airlines to install new flight deck doors on aircraft serving the United States by April 9, 2003– the deadline for U.S. carriers.
• The FAA also required that foreign airplanes serving the United States must have the Phase 1 fix installed by August 20, 2002.
• The FAA Part 129 rule affects approximately 1,921 foreign airplanes. The cost estimate ranges from $40.9 million to $80.2 million, $17,000 to $36,000 per door respectively.
• The rule also requires that the flight deck door be closed and locked.
• FAA inspectors conduct random ramp inspections of foreign airlines. The agency will continue to work closely with our foreign counterparts to monitor compliance.
• If the FAA determines non-compliance on the part of a foreign airline, the FAA can proceed with enforcement action.
• There are approximately 529 Part 129 airlines that are authorized to operate to the United States.

FAA Design Approvals
The installation of new cockpit doors is critical to improving aircraft security. The U.S. airline industry made tremendous efforts to quickly reinforce existing cockpit doors following Sept. 11. The agency expects airlines to dedicate the necessary resources to meet the April 9, 2003 deadline.  The FAA is dedicating enormous resources to support the manufacturers and airlines.

• In July 2002, the FAA issued the first approval of a reinforced cockpit door design, hours after receiving the final documentation from the manufacturer.
• To date, the FAA has approved five models (A319/A320/A321, Boeing 737, 757, some 747s, DC-9/MD-80), which represent design solutions for about 60 percent of the fleet. This fall, the agency expects to issue design approvals that would cover solutions for 90 percent of the current fleet.
• The FAA has expedited the approval process. For example, the approval for the Airbus A320 was approved within two hours once FAA received documents from our French counterparts (DGAC). FAA issued approvals for the Boeing 737, 757 and DC-9/MD-80 the same day or the day after receiving the final documentation from the manufacturer.
• The FAA is approving designs and working closely with manufacturers and airlines to integrate our plans to make the door installations as efficient as possible.
• Installation may take a few days to a week. The airlines must schedule the installations for their aircraft.
• On Aug. 28, the Acting Administrator held a meeting with senior airline and manufacturer executives to discuss progress toward meeting the deadline. This dialogue will continue on a weekly basis. In addition, manufacturers and airlines have been asked to submit compliance plans to the FAA in the next several weeks.

FAA Aircraft Security Upgrade Funding Program
As announced by the President on Sept. 28, the FAA is administering a federal grant program to help the U.S. airline and cargo industry finance aircraft modifications to fortify cockpit doors and alert the cockpit crew to activity in the cabin. Funding may be provided through grants or cost sharing arrangements. The President requested $300 million from Congress to help fund these initiatives. Congress appropriated $100 million.

• On May 3, the FAA announced plans to distribute $100 million that Congress appropriated for security enhancements to aircraft cockpit doors and cabins.
• The FAA established the pilot program to find the most effective technologies that could be adopted by the greatest number of air carriers in a short time. Any FAA-certificated Part 121 air carrier was eligible to apply for the program by Oct. 16, 2001.
• Approximately $3 million is being distributed to 11 airlines under a pilot program to install video and other technology for use in the cabin and to implement emergency alerting systems that may be installed in the aircraft or carried by cabin crew members.
• The remaining funds -- approximately $97 million -- will be given to air carriers to fortify their flight deck doors. The funding may be applied to locks and other barriers already installed, as well as to the permanent design changes that must be in place by April 2003. Each carrier will receive approximately $13,000 per aircraft, with the total not to exceed the actual costs.

Crew Training
In January, the FAA issued new guidance for training crew members in dealing with potential threats, especially hijackings.

• The new guidance represents a shift in strategy from passive to active resistance by crewmembers.
• Because it contains sensitive security information, the actual training guidance cannot be made public. However, it is possible to highlight some general aspects of the FAA’s guidance:
  -  The aircraft captain should include any securityinformation specific to the flight or to the airline during the preflight crew briefing.
  -  Any passenger disturbance, even those seemingly harmless, should be considered suspicious; it could be a diversion for other more serious acts.
  -  In a threat situation, crewmembers must act as a team. If a threat arises, the cabin crew and flight crew must communicate in clear, concise, plain English.
  -  In any suspected or actual hijack attempt, the flight crew should land the airplane as soon as possible to minimize the time hijackers would have to commandeer the aircraft and use it as a weapon of mass destruction.
• The new FAA guidance emphasizes that updated training is a responsibility shared by the agency, the carrier and the carrier’s employees. Training shouldchange as new threats are identified.

Future Actions

• The FAA is considering further rulemaking to require other measures that may enhance airplane security, including surveillance systems to alert crews of activity in the cabin and an upgrade to ensure the continuous operation of the airplane transponder.