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San Jose Airport Officials Maintain Perimeter Security Has Been Strengthened Following Stowaway Teen Incident

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Officials at Mineta San Jose International Airport are trying to assure city leaders that they have indeed stepped up security, following an incident in April when a teenage boy hopped a fence and stowed away on a flight to Hawaii.

Airport spokesperson Rosemary Barnes said they have partnered with a national nonprofit safety group to examine security flaws exposed in the incident.

"Specifically, we are aligning ourselves with an agency called the National Safe Skies Alliance. They are an industry advocate for airports," Barnes said. "What they are doing is independently testing all kinds of technology that can be used at airports to strengthen perimeter security."

San Jose Airport Officials Maintain Perimeter Security Has Been Strengthened Following Stowaway Teen Incident

Barnes said they are currently considering several pieces of technology, and have been approached by a number of vendors offering their own solutions.

"If someone scales that fence line, it will trip an alarm, where it will automatically be brought to the attention of the people reviewing our surveillance camera. That's one type," she said. "There's many technologies out there."

Barnes said perimeter patrols have also been stepped up by the Transportation Security Administration and San Jose Police.

It was early on the morning of April 20 when 15-year-old Yahye Abdi of Santa Clara scaled a fence and went undetected, stowing away in the wheel well of a Boeing 767 headed to Hawaii, and surviving the flight.

The airport's security has been under intense scrutiny since that incident, both on a national and local level.

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