CAA: GA News, "Small operators grounded"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, September 26, 2001 

Small operators grounded
FAA suggests safety measures, but private aviators not fearful
BY DANIEL de VISE AND WILLIAM YARDLEY 
The Miami (FL) Herald


No banner planes at the beach. No blimp at Dolphins games. No morning
traffic reports by helicopter. No sightseeing tours over South Beach. No
unauthorized flights within 20 miles of Miami International Airport.

The threat of terror has cleared the skies over a broad swath of South
Florida, grounding a wide array of specialty aircraft that make up the
general aviation industry.

Commercial airliners and international airports have grabbed most of the
attention since the Sept. 11 terrorist assault. But two weeks later,
most of the aircraft that remain grounded are smaller planes housed at
mom-and-pop operations at small regional airports.

``This is the first time that we've been totally shut down,'' said Jim
Butler, whose family business, Aerial Sign Company of Pembroke Pines,
has piloted banner airplanes for 50 years. ``We love to fly. And when we
don't get to fly, we're not happy campers.''

In the newest development Tuesday, the Florida Department of Agriculture
and Consumer Services was drafting an emergency rule that would require
the state's 150 licensed crop-spraying pilots to file reports similar to
flight plans each time they take to the air -- indefinitely altering an
agricultural tradition in the often unrestricted airspace over the
state's sugar, rice, fruit and vegetable farms. 

ENFORCEMENT 

At issue: how to enforce security in an industry that largely falls
outside the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA allowed commercial airlines back into the air Sept. 13.

But smaller aircraft that rely on visual flight rules weren't cleared
for takeoff until Sept. 19, and many categories of aircraft remain
grounded.

The key reason: Pilots who steer by the sun and the horizon are allowed
to fly without filing flight plans or communicating with airport towers.

The concern about crop-dusters is that they could conceivably be used to
release chemical weapons over heavily populated areas. Federal officials
grounded all crop-dusters last weekend following revelations that
terrorist suspects had visited airstrips to inquire about the planes.
The ban was lifted early Tuesday.

The debate over security puts FAA officials at odds with the private
aviators. The FAA has little authority over small airports that don't
house commercial airlines. But in testimony to Congress last week, FAA
Administrator Jane Garvey said she intends to enact new security
measures for some smaller aircraft.

SMALL AIRPORTS 

``We are planning in November to make some provisions for requiring
security involving private jets of 30 seats or less,'' said FAA
spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. `` . . . That may be speeded up as a result
of the terrorist attacks.''

Small airports typically lack the security checkpoints of their large
counterparts, which means a visitor could more easily gain access to the
airstrip. But private aviators contend any stranger would stand out in
an airport of 200 or 300 planes flown by a small community of pilots.

Federal officials have urged private aviators to take their own security
measures: keep precise passenger lists and check all passenger ID's; tag
all luggage; keep hangars locked.

But few in South Florida's close-knit group of municipal airports and
private aviators voice security concerns.

``The aviation community is a lot tighter than you think,'' said Loretta
Dotson of Anthony Aviation Center at Pompano Air Park. ``Most of these
guys have been here for 20 years.''

Leaders in the small-aircraft industry are growing politely critical of
the FAA for focusing most remaining restrictions on the general aviation
industry.

Most private aircraft would serve little purpose as airborne missiles
because they ``weigh less than a compact automobile,'' said Warren
Morningstar, spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

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http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

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