Federal Aviation Administration's behavioral research program for defense against hijackings.
Behavioral research has been significant contributions to the government's successful program for defense against hijackers. Today's boarding gate defenses have a leading role in that program, but they were rejected until creation of the behavioral profile made selective search feasible. Metal detectors now make search of all travelers practical but with increasing involvement of boarding gate employees, so a behavioral program is used to monitor their performance. Experience shows that some persons have penetrated boarding gate defenses, so another requirement was in-flight defenses. Flightpersonnel had defeated some past hijackers, so a behavioral analysis of past hijackings was used to identify tactics for in-flight defense. These were incorporated into training programs and distributed to all U.S. airlines, many government organizations, and foreign carriers. Research continues for updating these and developing new courses for special needs, such as defense against gangs.
D000060:Accidents, Aviation / Q000517:prevention & control; D001359:Aviation; D001519:Behavior; D003415:Crime; D003417:Criminal Psychology; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D014195:Travel; D014481:United States