CAA: GA News, "Small Massachusetts airports consider new security steps"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Small airports consider new security steps 
By Leslie Miller
Associated Press


BOSTON (AP) A one-size-fits-all approach to security at the state's 41
small airports won't work because different airports face different
security needs, airport owners and operators said Wednesday. 

The Federal Aviation Administration has no requirements for security at
general aviation airports, but the agency that oversees the state's
general-use airports issued guidelines last week in reaction to the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Those include
checking employee and passenger names against federal ''watch lists,''
posting 24-hour armed guards, installing 8-foot fences and issuing photo
identification cards to employees. 

But those guidelines may be too stringent for airstrips that have as few
as 30 airplanes, said Robert Mallard, executive director of the
Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission. 

''We're not going to get fencing up at every airport, certainly not in
the short term,'' Mallard said. ''Our long-term goal is to put fencing
up at airports where appropriate.'' 

Airport owners and operators met Wednesday to try to hash out reasonable
guidelines and swap ideas for making small airports safe. 

''It was never really an issue before,'' said Wayne Kerchner, the
commission's general counsel. 

A three-tiered system may evolve, with small airports like Plum Island
Airport only required to deactivate planes with propellor locks rather
than fences. Larger airports would be required to have a higher level of
security. 

At one small airport, the pilots proposed taking turns doing guard duty
with cell phones rather than guns. 

Most small airports do not have fencing around runways, metal detectors
or baggage screeners. Most general aviation pilots don't have to file
flight plans with the FAA, and flying students can hire small planes
with a credit card and a driver's license. 

Massachusetts National Guardsmen are posted at four of the state's
smaller airports Westover Air Base in Chicopee, Barnstable Municipal
Airport, and on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. 

The state has pledged $3 million to help airports pay for increased
security. Mallard hopes they can leverage that money with a 90 percent
federal match from the FAA. 

''Right now we just need to identify what all the issues are and address
them as soon as possible,'' he said. ''It's going to take months, in
some cases, to get these things fully implemented.'' 

The Massachusetts Airport Managers Association will work with he
commission to set firmer guidelines, he said. 

The FAA is expected to issue security guidelines for small airports,
though it's unclear when that will happen.

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