Scientists from BAE Systems and Airbus are testing out the first hijack-proof airliner, that is said to be able to steer itself away from tall buildings and even land by remote control if terrorists take control of the plane of kill the pilot.

The Sunday Times said the tests were being conducted in Bristol in England, and Hamburg in Germany using actors in planes on the ground.

Reportedly, the technology will be available to airlines by mid-2008 with the full system to be installed a few years later. The system was developed to avoid the September 11, 2001 attacks where al-Qaeda members hijacked four airliners and crashed into several targets.

BAE and Airbus said the new system goes beyond the reinforced cockpit doors and sky marshals used as the immediate deterrent to terror attacks. They said it is designed as a last line of defense if the strict airport security and passenger surveillance measures fail to prevent a hijack.

Part of the system will employ biometric technology that will be used in order to gain access to cockpit doors. Irises and fingerprints will be scanned so that only authorized crew can enter the cockpit.

Similar biometric sensors would be outfitted to cockpit instruments just in case the terrorist kills the pilot. Should that scenario occur ground controllers can still maneuver the plane by remote.

The plane’s computer will be programmed to prevent the plane from being taken off its pre-determined course, while ground controllers land the aircraft at a nearby airport using remote control.

But the most significant feature of the technology is the emergency avoidance system designed to automatically alter the plane’s course if it is heading for buildings or mountains in case the terrorist threatens the pilot or force the plane to fly into a building.

An avoidance system would be able to determine if the plane is being directed towards a target and override the pilot and direct the plane towards the sky. The system is based on the technology used to avert mid-air collisions.

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Cross Match Technologies, a global leader in providing high-quality interoperable biometric identity applications and solutions, today announced it will deliver over 200 AUTHENTICATOR 200 passport readers to heighten security at the new international airport in Bangkok, Thailand. This sophisticated device is equipped with an integrated RFID reader, which enables the AUTHENTICATOR 200 to read information stored on the RFID chips integrated in e-passports to validate the accuracy of the information prior to allowing a passenger through security. The device supports the latest developments in the field of e-Passports including Basic Access Control, as well as Active and Passive Authentication. Upon project completion, all immigration counters at the airport will be equipped with the document reader devices.

To ensure the document readers will work effectively in the new airport, the Bangkok-based systems integrator in charge of the project, CDG Systems Limited (CDG), and Cross Match Technologies’ local partner, Bio Engineering Company Limited (BEC), conducted two trial runs with the devices. The first trial run was conducted in July 2006 in the presence of the Prime Minister of Thailand, and the second was conducted in August 2006 at the Suvarnabhumi airport immigration counter. Cross Match provided the AUTHENTICATOR 200 devices with Software Development Kits, while the software used at the immigration counters was developed by CDG. In addition, BEC developed the software that runs on the fully equipped AUTHENTICATOR 200 units in the immigration office, which are used to check passports more thoroughly in cases where the officers suspect the travel document may be forged. The official opening of the new Bangkok international airport will take place on September 28, 2006.

As the first Asian country to officially issue ICAO compliant e-passports to its citizens, Thailand leads the way in applying biometrics in border security applications in Asia. Beyond providing document reader devices to the new Bangkok international airport, Cross Match also previously worked with BEC on a project to equip Chan Wanich Security Printing Company Ltd, the organization who prints the Thai e-passports, with 40 of its passport readers for quality assurance of the Thai e-passport.

“We are pleased that Thailand selected our AUTHENTICATOR 200 document reader devices to heighten security at the new international airport in Bangkok, and to further expand our presence in the Asia Pacific region,” said James W. Ziglar, president and chief executive officer of Cross Match Technologies, Inc. “In light of the recent terrorist threats, international security is of utmost importance so we anticipate we will see more and more demand for our solutions across the globe in the coming months.”

Clear® Registered Traveler announced today that it has made an agreement with British Airways to launch Clear at the British Airways Terminal 7 at John F. Kennedy International Airport this fall and to market the program to British Airways customers across North America.

Terminal 7, which serves several other major airlines in addition to British Airways, will thus become the first facility in the New York area to have registered traveler - the program that allows business travelers and other frequent fliers to pay a small annual fee and provide background information about themselves so that they can be pre-screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and be provided a biometric identity card that will allow them expedited access through airport security checkpoints.

“We are pleased to now have an agreement with Clear to operate the registered traveler program at our JFK terminal and to engage in a variety of co-marketing activities,” said Robin Hayes, Executive Vice President, The Americas, British Airways. “The customer service benefits that Clear will offer our valued customers not only in New York but in cities where Clear will launch in the future are consistent with the innovations that British Airways is renowned for delivering.”

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Tuesday (August 15) the expansion of the US-VISIT program’s biometric entry procedures to additional locations in Fresno, Calif., New Orleans, La., and Halifax, N.S., Canada, as follows:

    * Due to a significant increase in international arrivals, Fresno-Yosemite International Airport in Fresno, Calif., will begin biometric screening on August 15, 2006.
    * The recently constructed Erato Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans, La., will begin biometric screening on October 15, 2006.
    * The new pre-flight inspection location at Halifax International Airport in Halifax, N.S., Canada, will become the eighth pre-flight location in Canada to use US-VISIT biometric screening. The start date will be posted on the DHS Web site.

US-VISIT’s biometric entry procedures – digital, inkless finger scans and digital photograph|–|are a part of the routine primary inspection process at airports and seaports with international arrivals, in the secondary inspection areas of U.S. land border ports of entry and at U.S. consulates around the world – through the State Department’s complementary program called BioVisa.

No changes will be made to the US-VISIT process or to the classifications of travelers subject to US-VISIT as the result of this expansion. US-VISIT currently applies to most visitors (with limited exemptions) entering the United States, regardless of country of origin or whether they are traveling with or without a visa or by air, sea or land. US-VISIT does not apply to most Canadian travelers.

Since the program launched in 2004, more than 62 million people have been processed through US-VISIT at U.S. ports of entry. With the help of US-VISIT biometric procedures, more than 1,200 criminals or immigration violators have been denied entry to the United States.

While it might be very difficult to detect benign chemicals that could make an explosive when mixed together, it is not nearly as difficult to detect traces of potentially dangerous chemicals on the fingers of individuals who recently have been in contact with them.At the University at Buffalo’s multidisciplinary Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors, (CUBS) researchers from several academic departments have proposed development of a biometric sensor that could detect such traces on the fingers of airline passengers.

“An individual never can be absolutely certain that he or she has completely eliminated all traces of such chemicals from their skin,” said Venu Govindaraju, Ph.D., CUBS director and professor of computer science and engineering.

Such a biometric sensor could be programmed to detect traces of certain chemicals, Govindaraju said. Such a sensor could be programmed to detect numerous potentially hazardous or questionable substances or chemicals simultaneously, he said. The sensor also could capture multiple modalities, such as fingerprints, palm prints and hand geometry.

Govindaraju is working on this project with colleague Frank Bright, Ph.D., UB Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences; Alexander Cartwright, Ph.D., professor, and Albert Titus, Ph.D., assistant professor, both in the Department of Electrical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The UB researchers began designing the device nearly a year ago in the context of cross-border security, specifically in Western New York, which is home to several busy U.S.-Canada border crossings.

In that context, the researchers proposed that fingerprint sensors could be accessed during the conversation that border crossers have with customs agents before being allowed into the country; such access could even be automated, Govindaraju said.

Detection of legitimate chemical traces, such as pharmaceuticals for instance, could trigger a request for a prescription so that ordinary commerce and transportation would not be significantly impacted, he said.

The CUBS researchers are exploring funding opportunities for such a biometric sensor.

Read more at Newswise.