After the Bombing

Sabotage experts have found traces of plastic explosive on a luggage pallet in the Pan American jet wreckage, confirming the grim suspicion that the 259 people aboard died because someone planted a bomb on the plane. Now the obvious security and law-enforcement steps start. The Federal Aviation Administration moved Thursday, calling for tighter security measures within 48 hours for all U.S. airliners flying into and out of 103 airports in Europe and the Middle East. It pledged to speed up the federal government’s role in efforts to develop and deploy better ways to detect sophisticated explosives. These avenues to restore what the agency called the balance between safety and comfort that was destroyed by Flight 103 will be pursued while law-enforcement agencies pursue the saboteurs.

These cannot be idle words. Most travelers do not mind delays if they are for safety’s sake. Not only must inspectors take more care in checking passengers and luggage, but airports must restrict and monitor access to planes and cargo as well. The FAA expects that passengers will have to arrive an hour earlier at airports for international flights and answer more questions about their luggage.

Countermeasures are tougher today because plastic explosives can go undiscovered by metal detectors and X-ray machines. But devices are being tested to detect the concentrations of nitrogen that are present in plastic explosives. One of these machines costs $1 million, however, and can check only about 600 bags an hour with about 95% accuracy. Given the alternatives, it seems to be a development for which most passengers and shippers would be willing to share the cost. Complete installation at major airports remains several years away.

Finding those who planted the bomb--and, if they were terrorists, learning what government or group helped them--will be the hard part. If guilt can be determined, then President Reagan or President-elect George Bush, who once chaired a panel on response to terrorism, will face the difficult decision of how to react.

For the relatives and friends of those who died in the air and on the ground, however, the obvious steps come too late.