At The Hill, Brad DeLong says:

Yes, the "system" worked. Here, I think, the person to listen to is security expert Bruce Schneier, who says:

Counterterrorism in the airport is a show designed to make people feel better. Only two things have made flying safer: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers."

In this case, it was a sharp-eyed and alert passenger who was the "system" that "worked."

That's why I'm still going to avoid airplanes.