Operation Atlas
Operation Atlas was the first airborne counter-terrorism drill performed in the United States since 9/11 and revealed several shortcomings in local, state, and federal response efforts.
Held on June 4 in Boston and involving upwards of 50 agencies, the exercise centered around a mock hijacking that starts with a band of terrorists kidnapping the family members of airport security screeners in Paris to smuggle weapons and explosives aboard a Chicago-bound United Airlines Boeing 757.
The terrorists launch their attack in mid-air, taking hostages in the rear of the plane as air marshals maintain control of the cabin. Alerted by French intelligence officials of a potential plot, U.S. officials deploy fighter jets to intercept the plane before it reaches the mainland and escort it to Boston Logan International, where state and federal law enforcement officers are waiting.
Before it is over, one hostage has been executed and an explosive device detonated in the rear of the craft before the plane is stormed.
Analysis of the drill is expected to be completed by mid-July, at which time some of the results will be made public.
Already, officials involved say that the exercise revealed shortcomings in inter-agency coordination and communications as well as technical problems like the employment of different radio frequencies that preclude smooth interchanges.
The drill was mostly funded by a $700,000 Homeland Security Department grant.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from Aviation Week & Space Technology (07/04/05) Vol. 163, No. 1, P. 48; Hazelwood, Ed.