EDITORIAL : A SAFER WAY TO FLY NEW BAGGAGE SCANNERS WILL IMPROVE SECURITY.

STARTING in January, the nation's busiest airports will begin using sophisticated X-ray machines designed to detect explosives - in checked baggage.

The new machines use the technology of medical CT scans to map objects inside luggage from several angles. It combines these views to create cross-sectional images, analyzing them to identify potential explosive materials.

The new technology, already tested in San Francisco and Atlanta, goes beyond the familiar scanners that passengers send their carry-on baggage through before they reach airport gates.

The old machines were designed to spot the obvious, such as a handgun or knife, said FAA spokesman Bob Ropelewski. Checked baggage wasn't even scanned.

The $52.2 million contract for the new safety measures is a product of the government's stepped-up security efforts since the explosion aboard TWA Flight 800 last summer. Regardless of whether that tragic crash was caused by mechanical problems or terrorists, this new move to beef up airport security is welcome. The bombings at Oklahoma City and the summer Olympic Games in Atlanta provide compelling evidence of the need to improve security regardless of the verdict on Flight 800.

The evil men do can never be fully eliminated. But safety measures such as these will go a long way toward reducing the ever-present threat of aerial terrorism.