After the events of September 11, airport security came under severe scrutiny. Investigations launched with the purpose of determining how terrorists could have passed through security checkpoints. As a result of investigations and the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created and became responsible for the screening of airline passengers.

The newly-added Boston Federal Aviation Administration Filings collection provides insight into passenger safety prior to and on September 11, 2001 in the form of reports, guides, testimonies of various Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees and airport workers, meeting minutes, memos, transcripts, and affidavits. The testimonies of James Miller, Jr., Theresa Spagnuolo, and Stephen J. Wallace detail the activities of Mohammad Atta, one of the hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower. Before the attack, Atta and another man were seen taking videos, pictures, and notes of security checkpoints throughout Logan Airport. The documents also detail standard operating procedures for pre-9/11 security at airports as well as at Massachusetts Port Authority. Please Remove Your Shoes is a documentary that discusses the failure of the FAA and the TSA to adequately protect airline passengers. This collection reveals the flaws within the security systems at airports both prior to, during, and after the events of September 11.

These documents are a part of the September 11 Digital Archive Collected Reports, which are within the Online User Contributions to September 11 Digital Archive Project. Brian Sullivan, a retired FAA agent, contributed these documents and Please Remove Your Shoes. This collection of documents would be of interest to anyone conducting research into the infrastructure of airport security pre-9/11, the creation of the TSA, and 9/11 litigation and investigations.