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Incidents at boro airports raise holiday tension level

By Alex Davidson

Two Christmas-weekend security breaches at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports put increased efforts to patrol the borough’s airports under scrutiny just days after the federal government raised its alert level and city officials stepped up measures to prevent terrorist attacks.

There were also questions raised about the screening of passengers before they board their planes at LaGuardia, following comments by a group of workers who said the use of private security guards threatens the security of travelers.

Already heightened concerns over security at the two Queens airports were lifted another notch Sunday when the pilot of a small plane flew without authorization into LaGuardia Airport’s airspace, then continued down along the East River and around the Statue of Liberty, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The other incident involved a man who allegedly stole a private bus Sunday from Manhattan’s Port Authority Bus Terminal and ended up at Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 4, a Port Authority spokesman said.

Jim Peters, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Eastern Region, said his agency was launching an investigation into Sunday’s unauthorized flight by the pilot who entered into LaGuardia Airport’s airspace and was later apprehended as he was approaching the Verrazano Bridge. The pilot was then escorted by airborne New York City and Nassau County police officers back to Farmingdale, L.I., where the plane originated, Peters said.

The investigation will focus on why the pilot flew through unauthorized airspace and will include a review of radar tracking information, air traffic control tapes and interviews with the NYPD and the plane’s pilot, he said.

“The investigation is in the early stages,” Peters said. “That (the interview of the pilot) has not taken place yet.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security raised the nation’s threat level to orange Dec. 21. New York City has been on orange alert since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001.

A spokesman for the Police Department said it had interviewed the pilot after following him back to Farmingdale, L.I., where the plane originated. The spokesman said the NYPD classified the incident as a pilot error and decided not to file charges against the pilot after hearing him tell his side of the story.

In the other incident, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Steve Coleman said his office was investigating how David M. Slade, 42, of Brooklyn allegedly stole the Peter Pan bus Sunday and ended up at Kennedy Airport. He said the bus was first reported stolen at 5 p.m. by Peter Pan officials, and that around 7 p.m., a Port Authority officer discovered the bus at the airport empty with no passengers inside.

The Queens district attorney said keys were found in the ignition with the motor running alongside an open can of malt liquor in the console adjacent to the driver’s seat. He said the defendant, believed to be a former driver for a private bus line, had bloodshot eyes and took a test that determined his blood alcohol level was .105 percent, above the legal limit of .08 percent.

Coleman said it was the responsibility of individual bus carriers, not the state Port Authority, to secure their vehicles at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

“In this case, that was not done and the bus was left unattended,” said Coleman, who added that the state agency sent out written and verbal reminders to the private bus providers telling them to monitor their buses. “We are very hopeful we will get compliance,”

Coleman said Slade is charged with grand larceny auto, criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated and driving while impaired. A spokeswoman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the defendant faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the federal Transportation Security Administration, disputed claims made in the Daily News by federal baggage handlers who said private security guards were illegally aiding screeners in examining baggage before takeoff at LaGuardia.

The Metropolitan Airport Workers Association said LaGuardia Airport was using the help of private companies in the wake of the heightened terror alert, which raised a security threat to passengers, according to the News.

“The air carriers are making use of private security guards but only to man the exit lanes after the last flight has departed,” Davis said. “They at no time perform any screening function.”

Davis said the private workers, hired by air carriers, maintain the airport’s security by preventing unticketed passengers from passing through to the boarding gate area. She also said private workers who aided federal employees only assisted with moving bags after they had been screened.

The workers association had claimed the private workers assisted federal screeners in sensitive security areas.

Davis said this was also false and that at no time did private workers get into secure areas. She also said all workers at both borough airports undergo 10-year background checks to ensure they are not threats before being allowed onto the premises.

The two weekend security breaches followed a Christmas Eve incident at LaGuardia’s Delta Air Lines terminal where a woman passed through a metal detector, set the alarm off, but was then let through without being inspected. Outbound flights from the terminal were halted and the terminal was evacuated following the breach.

Hours later, the Delta terminal was reopened without incident, but the woman was never found.

In August, three young boaters docked their inflatable raft on a runway’s edge at Kennedy Airport and wandered for an hour in restricted areas. The three youths gained access to the site without encountering any security measures, prompting similar concerns about security at the borough airports.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told a news conference two weeks ago that security would be increased at bridges, tunnels, transportation hubs and city landmarks after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the national threat would be raised from the third to the second highest level.

Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.