US: Charge against airline mechanic highlights 'insider threat'

The arrest of an airline mechanic suspected of being sympathetic with terrorists and charged with sabotaging a jetliner has renewed fear about the "insider threat" to aviation security. Despite security upgrades since the hijacking terror attacks of 2001, breaches including a gun-running operation at the nation's biggest airport illustrate the possibility that a well-placed airline or airport employee could bring down a plane. "Should people be worried? Hell, yeah," says Doron Pely, a former aviation security consultant in Israel. "This doesn't require a suicide bomber. It requires access to an airframe, an aircraft and motivation." Several experts interviewed said it would be difficult if not impossible to stop every determined criminal or terrorist. <br/>