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Remember that airport security was not the only thing that changed. When they note that there have been fewer incidents, etc., we have to factor in things like

Remember that airport security was not the only thing that changed. When they note that there have been fewer incidents, etc., we have to factor in things like reinforced cockpit doors, crew retraining, etc. and not just whatever procedures pass for “security” at the airport. I am also a bit skeptical that the much more complex new scanning machines are actually more effective at catching things than metal detectors. Meanwhile, we have to acknowledge the serious threats introduced by inefficient processes. The one that scares me is the unbelievable crowd sizes that now form at virtually every major airport. There is simply nothing secure about a giant crowd and it is ridiculous when the insecure crowd exists because of “security”!

likpok 5y ago
The new scanning machines will see things like paper or plastic in your pocket, so they can definitely see a lot more than metal detectors. You may think that's irrelevant, but it's not nothing. It's worth noting that 9/11 introduced a new threat that people hadn't really considered before: using planes as weapons. If you want to kill a bunch of people in the US there's lots of places with big crowds. A commercial airline r is a significant force multiplier: the OKC bombing killed "only" 168 people and the Las Vegas shooting only 68. 9/11 was an order of magnitude over that.