WPCNR WHITE PLAINS CLIPPER. By John F. Bailey. February 8, 2007: County Executive Andrew Spano, Commissioner of Transportation Larry Sallee and Director of Intelligence for the County Harold Rosenthal, introduced a $5 Million software driven camera and sensory system that maintains surveillance of the Westchester County Airport Perimeter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To date the system has confirmed positively that coyotes exist in Westchester county in and about the White Plains area and are prowling near the airport. One breached the "virtual fence" recently, was spotted instantly and airport security alerted.

Rosenthal told reporters human intruders attempting to breach the airport fenced perimeter gates or at any point would be observed within 4 seconds by on duty observer of the multiple screen system. A total of 17  Surveillance officers are rotated every two hours to avert fatigue and maintain fresh vigilance at the multiple screens. 

Rosenthal declined for security reasons to say how fast airport security personnel could reach any intruders at any point along the perimeter. The Director of Intelligence, (previously was in charge of security for West Point Military Academy), said the response time would vary depending on the nature and location of the incursion. He also said the close integration of the surveillance officer and the airport operations officer on duty enabled the airport authorities to respond cohesively, and make informed security deployment decisions to meet any penetration of the airport perimeter.  

Rosenthal also reported that private pilots maintaining  their own aircraft at Westchester County Airport would soon have their personal keys to the locked gates at the airport replaced with an identity swipe card system. Rosenthal said it was impossible to visualize every threat, and that having individual officers identify pilots at each of the 20 gate entry checkpoints was prohibitive from a cost standpoint with present staff. Rosenthal added that he and the airport security personnel are also examining biological systems such as finger print, iris identification and other systems to identify staff and other personnel, perhaps even pilots.

County Executive Spano noted that the $5 Million system was not paid for by taxpayer dollars but instead by Federal Aviation Administration funds and the airport budget.

That not-so-wiley coyote? Rosenthal reported that the unfortunate renegade sprinted across the airport entered Runway 34 into the path of a rolling jet on takeoff run which terminated the coyote threat before security personnel could intervene to apprehend the perpetrator.