Stowaways on planes and inside landing gear raise worries about aviation security

What is going on with aviation security? People have been found dead hiding in the wheel wells of planes twice in the past month. Two stowaways were arrested on different flights in November and December. Then a passenger opened an emergency door while a plane was taxiing in Boston Tuesday night. These incidents are being investigated, so we don't know yet exactly where security failed. But clearly there were gaps in security. So it's natural to wonder: is my flight safe? Why worry? If a stowaway can get inside a plane's wheel well or sneak aboard the cabin, what would prevent someone with malicious intent from getting access? “The challenge we run into is we have a system with gaps, and those gaps are sometimes exploited,” said Jeff Price, professor of aviation at Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Transportation Security Administration, the airlines and the airports are all trying to find where those gaps are and plug them. But Price said that by design there are gaps in the system. The fact that people are getting access to these planes makes pilots worried about the system. “Right now we’re seeing some fissure cracks. They’re unacceptable. And we’ve been lucky that it hasn’t been somebody with broader nefarious intent,” said Dennis Tajer, a longtime airline pilot and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association union. Experts have also said that a shortage of air traffic controllers, outdated plane-tracking technology and other problems are eroding the margin of safety in air travel.<br/>