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JFK TSA Federal Safety Director John Bambury with PAPD Inspector Bellucci
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AIRPORT V 2 OICE, JANUARY 2020
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Jeff Yapalater
516-425-4645
JFK TSA holds desktop drone
exercise to increase airport safety
Multi agencies attend to coordinate communication and command
BY JEFF YAPALATER
The JFK TSA held a drone
desktop exercise workshop
through the EXIS program
held at JFK Airport designed
to establish a chain of communication,
logistics and command
relating to increased
drone activity at JFK Airport.
Participants from local, state
and federal agencies were together
to participate in one of
the first desktop workshops in
the country ‘ The key is communication
between agencies,
for the safety of the airport.
All law enforcement agencies
at the airport and adjoining
police jurisdictions are here
to participate and learn “ said
JFK Port Authority Police Department
Inspector Bellucci,
who attended the exercise with
some staff. To this point in
time no real incident has occurred
at metro NY airports
such as what happened in Gatwick
but according to JFK FSD
John Bambury “ The TSA with
PAPD is bringing together all
the agencies that would respond
to a drone incident and
we are discussing how we
would respond establishing
communication and response
protocols
According to JFK TSA
Compliance Officer James
Fitzgerald, “The purpose of
the workshop and exercise was
to discuss affected agencies’
communication, coordination,
and response options during
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(UAS) incidents in an airport
environment and flight paths.
Our local headquarters mandated
this and our Director
Bambury is getting ahead of
the curve by doing this now.”
He said The TSA is the lead
in the drone issue. TSA has a
law enforcement components
such as the the Federal Air
Marshall Service, that look at
a drone incident if it will be a
local response, chances are it
will be in local confines local
precincts and FBI being the
key players. “We are lead coordinating
agency , coordinating
and consolidating efforts,
to make sure we have one
approach to mitigating that
drone threat, “ he said.
After the drones sightings
situation in Gatwick, England,
in December of 2018, the TSA
needed to be better prepared
for a s imilar i ncident. A lmost
on the anniversary date
of the London incident where
Between 19 and 21 December
2018, the TSA held its desktop
exercise at JFK to underscore
the importance of being
prepared following reports of
many drone sightings in the
metro NY airways. Bambury
added,“ We have not experienced
what happened in Gatwick,
but since we have seen
what happened there we need
to be prepared to respond to it.”
Fitzgerald explained, saying
“ What the TSA is doing today
is coming up with a table
top exercise , plans, having all
law enforcement key players at
the airport, to role play different
scenarios to see what we
would do, what resources everyone
brings to the table, and
exactly what is going to be our
main focus as a federal state
and local response to any kind
of threats by drones.
It is a safety issue.” He mentioned
the recreational use
of drones around the airport.
“Many hobbyists have drones
but there are safety concerns
such as one being sucked into
an engine or more diabolically
being used as a delivery device
that someone could use to
transport an IED onto the airfield,
or inside terminal. These
are the main concerns now,
and the threat to aviation security
which is always evolving,
always changing.
Fitzgerald’s agency is also
responsible for terminal security
as well remembering the
shoe bomber incident from
the screening side of the house
( TSA security at departing
lanes at terminals). “The insider
threat is always a concern
but now the threat posed
by drones is a factor that each
sector of our community must
look at.”
He also understands the
commercial, recreational aspects
of using a drone, such as
enthusiasts for aerial photo,
real estate, and a lot of engineering
surveying. “A Lot of
people around here use drones
for professional and commercial
purposes. People go out
and get a drone and are not
familiar with operating elevations
or restrictions. NYC has
designated areas to fly drones
such as Corona Park and Floyd
Bennett Field which are near
to LGA and JFK airports. The
FAA has instituted rules for
the flying of drones that every
pilot must be aware of the procedures.”
Reviews of detection and
safety protocols are held at
FAA Hughes Technical facility
and TSA (TSOC) which are
hubs for communication, coordination
and collaborations
for multiple agencies that oversee
and respond to security-related
operations, incidents and
crises in aviation and transportation
security at their research
and training facilities
in Atlantic City and Virginia,
respectively Fitzgerald concluded
saying that safety is
the TSA main mission, “There
are groups you can find online
that threaten to use drones.
Easy way to get message out.
We need to be prepared for the
unexpected.”
For more information on
EXIS, Exercise Information
System or EXIS of the Transportation
Security Administration’s
(TSA) premier online
exercise program, goto: exis.
tsa.dhs.gov
with drone.
/tsa.dhs.gov