4 ms·
>Then along came the first hijackers I don't think most young people know how prevalent hijackings were in the past. There were dozens every year peaking in t
by slg 5y ago
>Then along came the first hijackers
I don't think most young people know how prevalent hijackings were in the past. There were dozens every year peaking in the late 60s and early 70s. In those days, they were usually done for ransom money or some political cause and the end goal was not to kill anyone. 9/11 obviously changed that as it became clear a hijacking threatened the life of everyone onboard as well as people on the ground. Security changes since then have resulted in hijackings almost completely disappearing from passenger flights in the western world. I would personally attribute this more to changes like reinforced cockpit doors rather than the TSA style screenings, but the security changes have brought a real measurable improvement in reducing hijackings.
- mulmen 5y agoHow common were hijackings in the late 1990s?
- slg 5y agoI don't have exact numbers, but less common than the 70s and more common than today. Like I said, they peaked in the 60s and 70s. While the TSA didn't exist until after 9/11, TSA style screenings were introduced in response to those hijackings. That was at least part of what caused the numbers to drop through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. That is why I'm not willing to completely dismiss those screenings as security theater. Sure, taking off our shoes is almost certainly meaningless from a security perspective. But walking through a metal detector and putting our bags through x-ray machines likely does help. Basically the screenings that still happen for people with TSA Precheck show what security practices are likely the most valuable.
- mulmen 5y agoRight, I’m curious to see the correlation with the post-9/11 measures as I suspect they are far less effective than previous, sensible precautions.