The rates of terrorism in Western Europe, according to the Global Terrorism Database, were much higher from 1972 to 1992 than they were in 2015, and 2015 was a terrible year for terrorism. Not that it was great in the '70s and '80s, because there were high rates of terrorism, but Europe survived and Europe will survive this round of [terror] attacks.
Terrorist movements always fail. They go out of existence. They do not achieve their strategic aims. Northern Ireland is still part of the UK, and Basque Country is still part of Spain, and Israel continues to exist … the list goes on and on.
http://www.vox.com/2016/8/16/12486586/2016-worst-year-ever-violence-trump-terrorism
What changed? Couldn't be diligence could it?
DEVELOPMENT OF AVIATION SECURITY
Two major events caused the public to exert pressure on the U.S. government to implement security procedures at airports and to mandate security requirements for U.S. air carriers. The first was the increase in the incidence of hijackings during the late 1960s and early 1970s (see figure 1-1), which resulted in the establishment of Anti-Hijacking Program of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The second event was the destruction of Pan American Airlines Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988, which resulted in the creation of the President's Commission on Airline Security and Terrorism in 1989 and the enactment of the recommendations of that commission into the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-604).
FAA Anti-Hijacking Program
On September 11, 1970, President Richard Nixon announced "a program to deal with airplane hijacking," which ordered air carriers to deploy "surveillance equipment and techniques to all appropriate airports in the United States." The president further instructed the Departments of Defense and Transportation to work with the U.S. air carrier industry to determine if metal detectors and x-ray devices used by the military could assist in preventing hijackings. On February 1, 1972, the FAA issued a rule requiring air carriers to use a screening system, acceptable to the FAA, that would require screening all passengers "by one or more of the following systems: behavioral profile, magnetometer, identification check, physical search." Hijackings continued and on December 5, 1972, the FAA issued emergency rules that required screening all passengers and carry-on baggage on all certified, scheduled passenger aircraft. The anti-hijacking or screening program currently used by U.S. air carriers is almost identical to the program initiated in 1972. This program requires air carriers to implement a security program capable of preventing the introduction of weapons and explosive or incendiary devices aboard an aircraft. Since the issuance of this rule, the screening program has been improved in terms of training procedures, x-ray and metal-detector standards, access control specifications, employment standards, and testing requirements.
As a result of the increased incidence of hijacking and sabotage of U.S. air carriers in the past quarter century, numerous statutes, treaties, and regulations have been promulgated by a variety of entities to establish the current U.S. civil aviation security system (see appendix A). Air carriers, airports, and the FAA each have specific roles to play in ensuring airport security, as outlined in table 1-1
PASSENGER SCREENING
Approximately 1.5 million commercial aviation passengers are screened in the United States each day for weapons and dangerous articles prior to boarding an airplane. Passengers place their carry-on baggage on a conveyor belt for inspection by x-ray equipment, and they walk through a portal that detects the presence of metallic objects. If the metal-detecting portal sounds an alarm, passengers are searched further to determine the cause of the alarm and to ensure that they are not carrying objects that could be a threat to aviation security. These alarm-clearing search procedures employ either a hand-wand metal detector or a physical pat-down search. The technologies for detecting metallic objects are mature, and the manner in which these technologies are implemented to ensure airport and air carrier security is familiar to travelers.
However, these technologies are not capable of detecting nonmetallic weapons, plastic explosives, and other dangerous materials. The FAA is working to make current technologies more effective and to develop new technologies with wider applicability. As these new technologies mature, issues regarding their implementation in airports, including passenger acceptance and air carrier and airport accommodation, will become important factors in determining which technologies will be appropriate for airport use.
The Panel on Passenger Screening investigated a variety of nontechnology issues related to the implementation of new screening technologies to assist the FAA in identifying the most promising technologies. The panel reviewed potential screening devices or methods currently under consideration by the FAA for use in airports. The panel also assessed aspects of each method that could cause public concern over such issues as health risks involved (e.g., exposure to radiation), privacy, and traveler comfort, in light of current and anticipated health regulations, and privacy laws. The panel considered ways in which the methods could be implemented to maintain high levels of effectiveness, while minimizing health risks and increasing public acceptance. The panel also identified key factors that could affect their implementation, considering mitigating strategies and alternate screening methods for those passengers who wish to avoid the automated system. Methods for clearing alarms also were discussed.
Because both current and new technologies require security personnel to supplement the automated system when a passenger sets off the alarm, the panel considered the operator as an integral part of the entire passenger screening system.
Diligence!
So why bother with seat belts and airbags?