The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "air cargo" ...
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Air Cargo Security
Though it has been five years since air safety went through a reform in the wake of 9/11, the screening process of cargo loaded onto airplanes is lax, keeping passengers in danger. Screening of passengers has improved, but the cargo has been a safety afterthought. They rely on a "known" or "trusted" shipper program, which means you must "be a known shipper to send cargo on a passenger plane." This leads to security lapses as reported by CBS News.
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Deadly Express
In a 9-month investigation, The Miami Herald uncovered inaccuracies in the government's reporting of the frequency of fatal cargo plane crashes. Through the analysis of extensive government documents dating back to 2000, the reporters found that 69 planes have crashed claiming the lives of 85 people, thus "making air cargo the nation's deadliest form of commercial aviation." Despite this fact, pleas to apply more stringent safety regulations on cargo flights have been ignored. Worse yet, when these lax safety standards result in fatal crashes, the pilots are often saddled with the blame.
Tags: aviation; cargo planes; FAA; regulations; plane crash; CAR
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Targeting Terror
The reporters investigated Chicago's vulnerability to a terrorist attack, particularly Chicago O'Hare International Airport, finding the over-all effort to protect the citizens of this city was sloppy.
Tags: terrorism; attacks; Chicago O'Hare International Airport; airport security; air cargo; public safety; FOIA
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Project security: Danger in the air
This WISH investigation reveals the threat presented by unscreened cargo aboard passenger planes, three years after Congress passed a law requiring the screening of such cargo. The report noted that none of the Transportation Security Administration's $85 million air cargo security budget is being used to screen cargo on passenger planes and that the government puts commerce ahead of safety. The TV station mailed its own bomb-related package across the nation to prove the security threat.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; TSA; Transportation Security Administration; air cargo; airline safety; known shipper program; Department of Homeland Security
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Fly the Fiery Skies
After the Valujet crash, the Clinton administration, the FAA, and the chiefs of the country's largest airlines promised that the installation of fire detectors in many aircraft was a top priority for the industry. Six months later, not one new extinguisher or detector was installed. The problem this poses is particular to smaller planes more than larger but the danger is real. The Halon fire fighting agent present in most planes cannot work correctly in the cargo holds of smaller planes. If there are no detectors or extinguishers, then a fire caused by standard hair products could quickly consume a plane with no warning to the crew until it is too late.
Tags: FAA; fire; fire detectors; fire extinguishers; air crashes; Halon; valujet; hazardous materials
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Cargo Handling: Safety Issues at Emery Accumulated for Years Before Its Grounding
The Wall Street Journal looks at the reluctance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take any definitive action against Emery Worldwide Airlines Inc. until August 2001, in spite of "a stream of safety incidents and complaints from pilots dating from 1996." The story examines "broader questions about air-cargo oversight" and finds that "the air-cargo business has grown much faster than passenger traffic in recent years." The reporter looks at the rising concerns that "the FAA gives cargo regulation lower priority, assigning it fewer and sometimes less-experienced inspectors."
Tags: FAA; airports; freight haulers; pilots; unions; carriers; flight standards
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Flying Haz Mat
"KIRO TV takes an in-depth look inside the Air Cargo industry. Hazardous, explosive materials are routinely mishandled and pilots often fly their jets despite serious mechanical problems. This investigation documents how sloppy loading, secret chemical cargo, sleeping pilots and an aging fleet of jets puts the public in danger."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; hazardous materials; aviation
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Safety on Hold: The Hidden Dangers in Airline Cargo
The Federal Aviation Administration has failed to control hazardous materials violations by air carriers. Hazardous cargo often travels aboard commercial as well as cargo carriers.
Tags: FAA; HAZMAT; Transportation Department; CAR
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Air Cargo Safety
After a terrorist bomb exploded in the cargo hold of Pam Am Flight 103 in 1988 and again after the ValueJet crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996 the Federal Aviation Administration issued stricter guidelines to ensue that dangerous cargo would not be loaded into the cargo holds of passenger planes. A WTXF-TV investigation found that the system put in place by the FAA doesn't work.
Tags: Undercover; TAPE
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Dangerous cargo, passengers in peril
USA Today finds that millions of airline passengers are endangered each year by hazardous cargo that is illegally shipped, mislabeled or improperly packed. The Federal Aviation Administration rarely finds illegal shipments, and some couriers violate security regulations by accepting air cargo without knowing what's inside.