Megan Crepeau’s article about Marilyn Hartman’s repeated attempts to board airplanes without a ticket shows once again that the most important part of the story continues to be virtually ignored.
Almost all the focus seems to be on how many times the woman has tried to sneak on airplanes, how far she has gotten doing it, her mental state, whether she should be in jail or an institution, and what, if anything, her family has done to help her.
Little seems to be reported about the most serious issue of all, and how that is being addressed. Why has she been able to get through all the levels of security that are supposed to be in place to protect air passengers from those who might do them harm and make sure they have paid for their flights?
Which TSA and airline personnel allowed her to pass through their work stations without proving she had the necessary documentation to show she was entitled to board the flights involved? Hartman may be mentally unstable, but she can certainly fool a lot of other people.
Why aren’t we being told about what is being done to hold airport supervisors accountable and about the discipline and retraining being proposed for those who let her get as far as she did?
— Jeffrey L. Stern, Highland Park
