About Federal Air Marshals

Federal air marshals are highly trained law-enforcement professionals responsible for protecting the flying public. Working undercover on both domestic and international flights, a federal air marshal's job is to prevent criminal and terrorist acts.

To be hired as a federal air marshal, applicants must be U.S. citizens under 40 years of age who are physically fit with good color vision and normal hearing.

History

In response to a spate of hijackings in the late 1960s, the U.S. Customs Service created its Sky Marshal program. Starting in 1970, more than 1,700 men and women underwent rigorous training at a military base in Virginia. The successful program was mothballed in 1974 when X-ray screening machines were installed at the nation's airports. In the aftermath of the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985, armed federal air marshals began riding on international flights of U.S. air carriers. Following the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush ordered a large-scale expansion of the Federal Air Marshal Service to safeguard both domestic and international flights. Today federal air marshals work under supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration.

Significance

When terrorists hijacked four domestic flights on 9/11, there were only 50 federal air marshals who were restricted by law to international flights. In the wake of 9/11, several thousand air marshals were hired from more than 200,000 applicants. Federal officials say air marshals assigned to 21 different field offices now protect thousands of domestic and international flights each day.

Armed undercover air marshals patrolled flights coming in and out of New Orleans during Super Bowl XXXVI festivities in 2002, as well flights in and around Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics. In a highly publicized December 2005 incident, federal air marshals fatally shot a passenger who fled from an American Airlines plane at Miami International Airport after claiming that he had a bomb.

Function

Protecting airline passengers and crew members requires federal air marshals to display sound judgment in stressful situations. Air marshals use investigative techniques, behavior recognition and the skilled use of handguns to carry out their duties.

Before starting work, federal air marshals must complete a 7-week basic law enforcement course followed by training to perfect their firearms skills.

Expert Insight

Based on interviews with more than a dozen federal air marshals and pilots, the Cable News Network aired a report in March 2008 claiming that on-board air marshals were protecting less than 1 percent of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take to the skies on an average day in the United States. CNN also reported that due to high turnover, less qualified airport security screeners were being hired to fill the dwindling ranks of federal air marshals. Although they refuse to divulge how many flights have air marshals on board, federal officials disputed the accuracy the network's story.

According to other news reports, federal officials have loosened marksmanship qualifications for air marshals, as well as scrapping required psychological evaluations.

Misconceptions

Despite their role as law-enforcement professionals, more than three dozen federal air marshals have faced criminal charges in recent years, according to an expose from a non-profit journalism organization called ProPublica that USA TODAY published in November 2008. The criminal cases involving federal air marshals ranged from the smuggling of drugs and explosives to drunk driving and domestic violence. Federal officials said the isolated incidents of misconduct should not overshadow the outstanding work done by the vast majority of air marshals.

Resources

• Federal Air Marshals
• Sources: Air marshals missing from almost all flights
• Crimes by air marshals raise questions about hiring