The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "airlines" ...
-
Meet the Robinsons
The investigation found just 1 percent of commercial airlines carry armed federal air marshals, and cities most vulnerable include New York City and Washington, D.C. Air marshals who are critical of the Transportation Security Administration agreed to go on camera only in silhouette because of past retaliation by the agency - a fact well-documented in government whistle-blower reports.
Tags: Transportation Security Administration; air marshal; airline industry; Sept. 11; whistle-blower; watch list
-
Airport Insecurity
KHOU-TV found that while "commercial airports all over the country had been forced to make millions of dollars in security upgrades, smaller general aviation airports remained unchanged" since 9/11. The station also found that terrorists wouldn't need to crash a plane into a building in Houston, but could do more damage by crashing it into containers of toxic chemicals.
Tags: terrorism; airports; security; toxic chemicals; terrorist attacks; Houston; commercial airlines; private planes; Texas
-
Ticket Taxes
Porterfield found that over the past 10 years "consumers have paid $102 billion" in taxes on U.S. Airline tickets. A large portion of that money went to fund small airports that mainly served corporations.
Tags: airlines; tickets; tax; taxes; transportation; federal funds; airports
-
CR Investigates an Accident Waiting to Happen
This report found that more airlines than ever are outsourcing their major maintenance work, often to overseas facilities. This trend has several implications. The outsourcing and contracting means that workers are not screened as carefully as they were when airlines did their own maintenance. Also, flight data shows that airlines that outsource services tend to have more delays.
Tags: transportation; air travel; airports; delays; air safety
-
Congress's Private Air Force
Being a part of Congress has its perks. Congress men and women often use lobbyists, businesses, and donors to get bargain airline flights on corporate jets. Also they have "the opportunity to be feted virtually every meal of the week" by lobbyists and corporations.
Tags: Congress; corporations; lobbyist; perks; free meals; airlines; jets; power
-
Air Cargo Security
Though it has been five years since air safety went through a reform in the wake of 9/11, the screening process of cargo loaded onto airplanes is lax, keeping passengers in danger. Screening of passengers has improved, but the cargo has been a safety afterthought. They rely on a "known" or "trusted" shipper program, which means you must "be a known shipper to send cargo on a passenger plane." This leads to security lapses as reported by CBS News.
-
Failure In the Sky
20/20 and ABC News report on the "fatally flawed" air marshal system, even getting an air marshal to speak, undisguised and on the record. The marshals are intended to be anonymous, but the marshal, Spencer Pickard, notes the rules for the air marshals include staying in the same hotels, a dress code that prohibits jeans and sneakers, and "airport boarding procedures that force air marshals to identify themselves as passengers watch." These rules can compromise their anonymity, and render them targets for terrorists rather than the hidden lawmen they are intended to be. The story resulted in a review of policy by the Federal Air Marshal Service, and an eventual relaxing of the dress code and hotel policy. But a solution regarding the boarding procedures is still pending.
Tags: Federal Air Marshal Service; terrorism; plane hijacks; air marshals; security; airport and airline security
-
Inside Two Agencies: How Security and Policy Problems Undermine the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Speed has become more important that security in two organizations that should be emphasizing security. The Star-Ledger investigates the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and finds that airport screeners are not as efficient as they should be. In addition, the series discusses the difficulty of securing cargo both at the port and on passenger jetliners.
Tags: Transportation Security Administration; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; cargo; security; port security; airport security; airline security
-
Twilight of The Assassins
"The first act of airline terrorism in the Americas was not 9/11 but thrity years ago, when seventy-three people died in the mid air bombing of a Cuban passengers plane. Now, one of the alleged masterminds lives freely in Miami, while another awaits trialon other charges in Texas. For decades, Fidel Castro (and later jaoined by Hugo Chavez) insisted that the CIA was ehind the bombing. However, the Bush administration has been loathe to release its 30 years of CIA and FBI files to finally resolve enduring suspicions.
Tags: bombing; airlines; airplanes; Fidel Castro; Cuba; CIA; FBI
-
Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program
Author Stephen Grey investigates the "CIA covert rendition program," whish is the transfer of suspected terrorists into foreign custody. He discusses the program's history, how it operates and the North Carolina airline involved. He and others were able to look into the treatment of terror suspects, and through interview Grey found out the interviewees' belief that many prisoners might be tortured as a result of the program.
Tags: CIA; terror suspects; Sept. 11. 2001; Air America; CIA covert rendition program; Bush Administration