Super Bowl security extends to sky above Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS -- When the Chiefs and 49ers hit the field on Sunday, teams from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO) will be patrolling the sky above Las Vegas.
CBS News Bay Area correspondent Max Darrow flew with CBP AMO's Daniel Pinkerton, an air interdiction agent, and Sandra Pinkerton, an aviation enforcement agent, to get a better understanding of their role in Super Bowl security.
"We're up here to increase situational awareness by downlinking video from a very unique perspective that only a platform like this has," Daniel said. "What Sandra is doing over here -- she has the fleer in TV mode and is looking at the stadium. We can transmit that to incident command center."
They're keeping an eye out for the unexpected or have eyes on certain areas they'll get directed to. The team will be up in the air before, during and after the game.
"This world is so dynamic and the threat is so diverse, it's hard to categorize what we're looking for," Daniel said.
Super Bowl security takes an extensive amount of interagency teamwork at the local, state and federal level, which is why CBP, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, is involved.
The FAA will issue a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for much of Super Bowl Sunday, centered around Allegiant Stadium with a 10-nautical-mile inner core.
If someone flies into that zone, Sandra says, a team will respond.
"That's going to trigger a response from our Blackhawk helicopters and the Department of Defense," she said. "They're going to try and intercept that aircraft and direct it to land at an airport."
Providing security for special events like the Super Bowl is a part of CBP's mission, which is something both of these agents take pride in carrying out.
"It's part of the fabric of America -- events like this -- where we can all come together, celebrate together and support that we can do it safely," Daniel said. "We take tremendous pride in being a part of the team that does their best to afford that opportunity."
"It feels good to go to bed at night knowing that we did the best we can to keep American people safe," Sandra said.