Anti-Terrorist Wall Planned for LAX

A 9-foot-high wall topped by barbed wire that can be electrified will be built around Los Angeles International Airport to prevent terrorist attacks, officials said.

Construction will begin next month on the first 5,900-foot portion of the wall, which will eventually circle the airfield.

“This will effectively preclude entry onto the airfield through a high-speed crash,” said Donald Miller, deputy executive director of the Department of Airports.

He said the wall--four feet of thick concrete topped by heavy chain-link and barbed wire--will be similar to those erected around several U.S. military installations.

The project is part of an extensive security program initiated after the 1987 crash of a Pacific Southwest Airlines jet that killed 43.

The plane crashed when a former airline employee, after sneaking a pistol aboard the flight, opened fire in the cockpit while the plane was in flight.

The concrete portion of the wall will be sunk about two feet into the ground to prevent anyone from digging underneath it, said Airport Manager Steven Yee. It also will be illuminated with floodlights.