"Groups seek input into air security"

Wednesday, September 26, 2001

Groups seek input into air security
By Gary Stoller
USA TODAY 

 
Consumer groups and critics of the Federal Aviation Administration say
the government is shutting them out of discussions to improve aviation
security and relying too much on airline industry officials for advice.

"The airlines and the government have never closed the door on
preventing terrorist bombings since Pan Am Flight 103 blew up 13 years
ago," says Paul Hudson of the Aviation Consumer Action Project. "If they
are allowed to continue on making the decisions today, I see no prospect
of closing the door on more suicide hijackings."

Consumer advocates say they are irate because following the attacks:

   . Two Department of Transportation task forces studying ways to
improve airport and aircraft security are meeting in private and have no
consumer representation. Both groups are comprised of government and
airline industry officials.

   . The FAA canceled a regular meeting of its security advisory
committee, which includes three consumer advocates, and hasn't set
another date.

   . Testimony at congressional hearings on aviation security has been
provided almost exclusively by airline and government officials.

The General Services Administration says it has recommended that the DOT
task forces reconsider including consumer representatives to comply with
a law requiring that members of government advisory groups reflect
balanced interests.

The DOT says the task forces' meetings have been closed because national
security concerns are discussed. That is permitted under the act; but
other aviation security commissions held public meetings and went into
closed sessions when sensitive security issues came up.

Among the members are Robert Baker, vice chairman of AMR, American
Airlines' parent company, and Herbert Kelleher, chairman of Southwest
Airlines. American was responsible for security for two of the planes
that were hijacked on Sept. 11.

"American could have billions of dollars of liability in these
hijackings," Hudson says. "If Baker admits that the airline did
something wrong, it could be used against the airline in court."

American spokesman John Hotard says Baker has served on other federal
aviation advisory groups and is well qualified to serve now.

"Mr. Baker is one of the most knowledgeable people in aviation today,"
Hotard says. "He knows the airline industry inside and out and
understands the issues."

FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette says the FAA committee meeting was
postponed because the administration's security personnel have been
focused on matters related to the attacks ever since Sept. 11.

Hudson says he recommended that the Senate Governmental Affairs
Committee invite former FAA security director Billie Vincent, a critic
of FAA security measures, to its hearing Tuesday. But the committee
instead invited Rear Adm. Paul Busick, a former DOT security official.

Other witnesses were from the DOT inspector general's office and the
General Accounting Office. Both have done critical security reports.

The witness list was "a very strong lineup on both sides of the issues,"
says John Tagami, a committee spokesman.

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID8

*****************************************