Flying High

Tennessee airport adds wireless video surveillance to help increase security efforts

NOWADAYS, it takes much more to have a safe flight, and airports are strengthening security to ensure passengers do travel safely. Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport, just outside bustling Nashville, Tenn., previously had six analog cameras running to videotapes that produced poor-quality video and required heavy manual operation. The airport had no cable infrastructure around its 1,700-acre facility, so a new networked surveillance system required wireless technology for total coverage. The new security solution includes a mix of Panasonic KX series PTZ network cameras and Pelco analog cameras converted to digital via Vivotek video servers. The system is managed by Milestone XProtectTM Enterprise IP video surveillance software. Dynamark Security also integrated video surveillance with an access control system.

Smyrna airport public safety officers have gained a full overview of the airport's many facilities via a flexible and scalable system, efficiently re-using existing hardware while integrating the IP platform that will serve for planned future growth.

Smyrna airport public safety officers have gained a full overview of the airport's many facilities via a flexible and scalable system, efficiently re-using existing hardware while integrating the IP platform that will serve for planned future growth. Adding new cameras anytime is easy, and remote access provides the ability to monitor activity anytime from anywhere. The Milestone software securely-encrypted evidence has already proven useful for sharing images with other authorities to handle prosecutions or resolve other issues.

"The corporate aviation accounts have insurance requirements we couldn't meet before our force came on board and this system was installed. So, we have lured business into this airport because of the new technology," said Joe Johnson, chief of public safety at the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority.

The Smyrna Airport began use of its new Milestone system in February 2006. The airport has a camera at every gate entrance and two PTZs on the new terminal building. One PTZ camera is on top of the control tower, giving a good overview of the entire sweep of the airport. Security can move the cameras around and add new ones any time -- the wireless network system is flexible.

Take Off
"The primary security goal is to lock the airport down, to control ingress and egress. We make sure no one gets through the gates who should not," Johnson said. "Our officers do a great job with the surveillance. We're watching them, and we've got control over our facility."

The airport also used Milestone software for footage of an accident when a pilot landed short of the runway. Authorities were pleased to learn that the video images were encrypted, so they could prove there had been no tampering with the evidence of the event.

"The new system has really helped us to monitor the facility," Johnson said. "Any movement that happens at night, we've got it set up in the software to send an alert to check it. We're on duty 24 hours a day. If someone tries to fly in some illegal cargo or to compromise our airport security, I'm going to track him and catch him. And just this morning, we had a fuel tanker hit a fence, so we've been working that case with the Milestone images to resolve how that happened."

Smooth Flight
The Federal Aviation Administration has recommended that every commercial airport provide enhanced law enforcement and security by June.

"We are ahead of schedule," Johnson said. "We've already had our FAA and TSA inspections. As a matter of fact, the FAA is bringing other people in to see this system because they want to make other airports aware of its capabilities."

Smyrna airport is well situated for the community's increasing travel needs. The airport is in the heart of Tennessee and is the geographic center of the eastern United States, facilitating airlines with a mild climate during the winter season. New fleets of micro-jets are being ordered in the United States, and recent reports indicate corporate business and commuter "taxi" flight services are going to increase significantly in the coming years. Smyrna airport is ready.

The facility has a long history and a bright future. There's a combination of military, corporate and small-business services, as well as significant flight training with more than 100,000 flight operations per year. The airport's air traffic control tower is staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the Public Safety Division runs continuously. The airport?s public safety officers are cross-trained in police, fire and rescue emergency medical services. Now, the officers are equipped with advanced surveillance tools and an IP video platform.

This article originally appeared in the January 2007 issue of Security Products, pg. 32.

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