This is what I found: SWAT Team At LAX Sparks Debate POSTED: 7:54 am PDT May 6, 2004 UPDATED: 8:25 am PDT May 6, 2004 LOS ANGELES -- The decision to allow a SWAT team to storm a Singapore Airlines jet on Monday after it had transmitted a computerized hijack alert has sparked a debate among law enforcement officials, it was reported Thursday. The debate centers on whether the action at Los Angeles International Airport violated protocol and jeopardized the safety of those on board, the Los Angeles Times reported. The hijack alert turned out to be false. Several law enforcement sources, some from the Los Angeles Police Department, told The Times that airport police had overstepped their authority by sending SWAT officers onto the plane after it landed Monday afternoon.=20 But airport officials said it was necessary to board the plane right away because they weren't certain whether a hijacking was under way. The dispute underscores the jurisdictional complexities that involve protecting the airport, aircraft and passengers at LAX, which the state has ranked as California's number one terrorist target, according to The Times. At least six agencies are charged with security at the airport, among them the FBI, the Transportation Security Administration, the LAPD and the independent airport police department. The questions about the ground response followed a revelation that several federal agencies had known that the flight's transponder was malfunctioning for at least four hours but had failed to notify airport officials and local law enforcement about the problem. The communication breakdown left local law enforcement agencies scrambling to deal with the plane just minutes before it landed. The confusion about the response by law enforcement agencies has prompted lawmakers to call for a renewal of the decade-old debate about combining the airport police and the LAPD. -----Original Message----- From: The Airline List [mailto:AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bill dunn Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 12:24 PM To: AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: was there a hijacking at lax? I heard only part of a report that a Singapore plane was hijack at lax? is that correct? did they catch the hijackers? how did they get aboard the plane?