This article is not a terrorist plot and is only written for the purpose of creating security awareness and preventing the potential scenario described in this article. 

A Cessna jet with three passengers leaves a local Los Angeles-area airport for a VFR flight to another local airport which takes only 10 minutes. The three passengers, dressed in pilot uniforms, seemed like they were going to work as usual. But on this day it was a different mission. As the Cessna was cleared for landing, they were going over last minute details of another flight they had planned.  When they left, the Cessna had a lot of baggage and was loaded to the maximum weight but within the take-off limitations of the plane. The destination airport was one of the world’s busiest general aviation airports in the world. The three men had rehearsed this several times. The pilot requested runway 16 left to land at the destination airport, an airport used by many Hollywood celebrities, politicians, and business executives, because it protects their anonymity. There are about 1700 flight operations a day.  There is a small police force with two officers per shift and no private security. The location of the police office is on the North side of the field.  They make regular patrols but focus on the perimeter of the airport grounds.

Earlier that day, the people passengers in the Cessna were focused on a website called “flightaware.com, which allows people to view incoming and outgoing flights from all airports in theUnited States. They had a specific interest in one of the outgoing flights at the destination airport. The tail number of the plane, a Gulf Stream IV, was N254TC, and was owned by a famous celebrity. Parked at Charter Aviation Company, the plane and its famous owner are preparing for departure in the next hour forNew York City. The passengers in the small Cessna are obsessed with this flight as they were landing, but their obsession goes unnoticed, as there is no one but the hired pilot to notice and he is preoccupied with the landing.  At the passengers request, the pilot taxis near the charter aviation company, where the celebrity’s security detail is dropping their client at the charter company’s gate to board his plane. The passengers have done their homework—the celebrity never takes security on the plane with him—security will resume inNew Yorkupon his arrival. The airport police confined primarily to the airport’s perimeter, by policy and practice, were no where in sight.

As the Cessna pulled into the charter company’s airplane parking area the men exited their plane rather quickly. They took their luggage from the hull and walked directly to the Gulfstream. As you may have figured out by now, they were not looking to get an autograph. In their bags were automatic weapons and as they boarded, they immediately took control of the plane. They already knew a flight plan was filed, knew how to fly the plane, and were now en route toNew York City. During the flight they turned off the transponder to avoid radar contact. No one knew the flight had been hijacked and that a famous celebrity was their hostage. But this was not the final mission of the kidnappers.

The plane took off from the airport and quickly reached a speed of 350 knots, and made a right turn toward downtownLos Angeles. Ten minutes later it slammed into city hall building in downtownLos Angeleswith full tank of fuel on board.

The World Protection Group, Inc. assesses this type of attack as more likely than another commercial airline hijacking. This type of attack would be easier to accomplish. If the above scenario is moved to some of the other GA airports throughout theUnited States, it may be even easier, where security is sometimes non-existant.

Let’s review what the terrorists did:

1. Celebrity – Surveillance on the celebrity, research on his plane, tail number, and chronicle of trips the celebrity makes—how often, what time of day, etc.
2. Airport Police – Surveillance on the airport Police force. Number of officers, routes of patrols, times of patrols, and lunch breaks.
3. Air Charter Companies – Security? Planes locked? Does anyone challenge them if someone parks at their location and goes into an unlocked jet? What do their flight uniforms look like? Where can they purchase a pilot uniform? What do their security badges look like so they can make a false badge?
4. Targeting – How far from the airport is their target. What building would be the best to hit in downtown Los Angeles? Would the building survive an attack by a Gulf Stream IV or will it collapse?
5. Military Response – What is the time frame if a hijack is detected that the military can scramble a jet and shoot down the plane?

How do we prevent this from happening? 

1. All Private Air Charter services should have adequate security and electronic security systems in place.
2. All Air Charter Services must make sure that anyone coming onto the field from their gates or entrances have been identified, screened for weapons, and cleared before entering the airfield.
3. All Air Charter Services should train all personnel on the airport watch system that the AOPA has recommended for smaller airports.
4. Report all suspicious activities to the Airport Police and private security.
5. All Air Charter employees should be issued ID badges and access cards. If an employee is terminated, these badges must be retrieved and their access removed.
6. Do not assume that all people dressed in Pilot uniforms are legitimate Pilots.  Check for identification and ask what company they are with.
7. All Air Charter Services should be required to conduct background checks on all employees.
8. If the Air Charter Service sub-contracts with another Air Charter Service they must ask for background checks to be done on the employees that will be carrying their passengers.
9. If you own a private jet you should have security on the plane or request that the plane have a pre-flight check by a security company that has expertise in aviation.
10. If a person has private security they should also have the security on-board the plane. Even though they will arrange private security on the destination location it is recommended they have a security agent on the plane to protect them.  If possible, the security agent should be an instrument-rated pilot.

Bodyguard

Within the security industry, we have seen a decline of the term bodyguard over the past 5 years. Bodyguard has come to symbolize the buffoon who we see aggressively pushing crowds in images with celebrities in gossip magazines. This caricature could include the off-duty cop who can carry a concealed weapon, the bouncer who is very large, or the martial artist who can fight well.

These bodyguards have been involved in selling information to the tabloids, violating confidentiality agreements, various use of force incidents, having improper or no licensing, hiring independent contractors and misclassifying security employees, carrying guns or weapons without the proper permits or license, starting frivolous labor board suits and workman’s compensation suits against their client, impersonating police officers, and even engaging in inappropriate behavior with the client.

Bodyguards will typically become a major liability to the client for reasons of indiscretion, unwarranted use of force or incompetency in the area of risk management.

The Past: Bodyguards are Dinosaurs

In the past, these untrained bodyguards dominated the market.

Today, most individuals and companies that hire executive protection services are more evolved. Reducing liability has become the number one concern for them and they look for professional executive protection agents with formal training from a respected and accredited executive protection school. The reason that this is important is that executive protection training is a completely different academy from police or military academies; at an executive protection school the focus is on protective intelligence and prevention. A seasoned executive protection agent has accumulated 600-1000 hours of formal executive protection training over the course of his or her career.

Today, the untrained element still remains alongside the professional agents within the security industry.

So what has changed?

Laws

California, as well as other states that have a licensing security board like the Bureau of Security and Investigations (BSIS), has cracked down on unlicensed activity.

Security Training

Anyone working in Security in the state of California must hold a ‘guard card’. In order to obtain a ‘guard card’, the security officer must have completed at least 40 hours of training from BSIS. In addition, professional Executive Protection training schools have now been operating in the US for the last 20-25 years and have elevated the formal training base in the industry.

Leaders in the security industry realize that providing Executive Protection services takes a specialized skill set and that past experience or training in law enforcement, the military, and martial arts is not enough. Those academies are a great base, but do no train anyone in Executive Protection. Cross training is necessary to make the transition and is difficult but it can be done. An example is the off-duty police officer: a police officer receives thousands of hours of training about pulling his or her gun at the scene of a crime. It’s a reactive motion. In Executive Protection we need to train against that. An Executive Protection Agent should never be reacting to a crime by drawing his or her weapon. Rather, the Agent is focusing on the Principal and covering and evacuating him or her out of harm’s way. As an aside, another strong argument to not using off-duty policeman as Executive Protection Agents is that police are bound by their oath to stop crime and drop all off duty activities at a moment’s notice to report for duty.

A good Executive Protection Agent will continue to train on a yearly basis to maintain the standards and skills required, just as good companies will offer training to their Agents. The US Secret Service-style training provides the foundation for a strong Executive Protection training program. The themes will generally focus around:

• Advance Work: protective intelligence/threat assessment
• 3 rings of Protection: layering the protection around the principle
• Cover and Evacuate: we never stand and fight

A good executive protection training school or company has the following curriculum outline as part of their training:

Protective Advances – Protective Intelligence – Radio Communications – Motorcades and Routes – Firearms and Special Tactics – Public Affairs and Media Control – Emergency First Aid/CPR/AED – Counter Terrorist Driving – Explosive Device Detection – Surveillance Recognition – Ambush Recognition – Post Assignments – Cover and Evacuate – Counter Surveillance – Protective Formations – Command Post Operations – Access Control and Crowd Control – Bomb Incident Management – Safeguarding Privacy – Threat Management – Evasive Driving – Investigations – Kidnap/Assassination Studies

Final Recommendations For People or Corporations That Use Executive Protection

1. Hire contract security vs. in-house, there is less liability exposure and management issues.
2. Make sure that each executive protection agent has gone through an extensive background check including an interview, criminal & civil files, drug test, psychological test, past employers, and personal references.
3. Make sure the security company and all executive protection agents have the proper licensing and security permits. In California the company must have a private patrol operator’s (PPO) license. Each executive protection agent must have a BSIS security guard card, exposed firearms permit, baton permit and pepper spray; California concealed weapons permit; and CPR (adult, child, & infant), first aid, & automated external defibrillator certified by the Red Cross or American Heart Association. Any client can verify licenses on the California Bureau of Security and Investigations Services website.
4. All executive protection agents must have formal executive protection training and proof should be given to you in the form of diplomas, which you can verify.
5. The security company should have an executive protection training program and continuous yearly training. You should request a copy of the training curriculum
6. The security company should have at least $2 million (WPG has $10M) in armed liability insurance and $1 million in workman’s compensation insurance, listing you as an additional insured on the policy. This insurance must be able to cover the Agents wherever they travel both domestically and internationally.
7. No security company should have any independent contractors working on the protection team. All executive protection agents must, by law, be employees of the company for liability purposes.