CAA: GA News, "'You can't protect everybody'"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, January 9, 2002

'You can't protect everybody'
By Pat Shannahan
The Arizona Republic


John Gasho Jr. couldn't believe the image on TV: Just as America's
aviators were flying high again after the September terrorist attacks, a
suicidal teenager in Florida crashed his plane into a high-rise.

Like others in the aviation business, Gasho says the incident proves not
that security needs tightening, but that no system is perfect.

"You can't let these things scare you too much," said the manager of
Royal Avionics in Mesa. "You can't protect everybody against a
psychotic. A guy with a big tanker truck could drive into the side of a
building."

That seems to be the prevailing view in a nationwide industry that
contains more than 600,000 certified pilots and 17,600 airports.

After Sept. 11, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded virtually
all non-commercial flights nationwide. Instructors, mechanics and
airport workers were sent home. Millions of dollars were lost before the
FAA reopened the skies in October.

The shutdown was especially tough on Arizona, where ideal weather has
created an aviation oasis.

Most flight schools are on the rebound now, and aircraft takeoffs are
back to normal. But life on the tarmac is not, because small airports
and their tenants have become more nervous and vigilant.

"We just don't have people wandering around the airport like we used
to," said Jacob Starr, owner of Glendale Aviation. "We're a lot tighter
controlling new students. . . . If somebody comes here that doesn't look
or sound American, we call the FBI."

Starr said he recently contacted federal agents about a Middle Eastern
man who wanted to fly. The FBI told him four other flight school
managers had called about the man, who checked out OK.

In the meantime, Congress and the FAA are considering new rules for
airports and flight schools, including criminal background checks on
students and pilots. The checks are among the recommendations made by
the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which opposes sweeping
security reforms. Association Vice President Keith Mordoff said the
government put his industry through an intense review after Sept. 11 and
found no more threat of terrorism from small planes than from
automobiles. It makes no sense to spend millions of dollars on needless
general aviation restrictions, Mordoff said.

In Chandler, flight school general manager Curt Langenhorst said his
safety rules were rigid before the attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon.

"There are a lot of people who don't like that," Langenhorst said. "We
tell 'em, 'You can go somewhere else.' "

At Deer Valley and Goodyear airports, acting manager Jack Schelter said
he can't imagine a system that would prevent incidents like the
high-rise crash in Florida.

Only so much can be done before security costs get too cumbersome, said
Mark Ripley, manager at Glendale Airport. "Are you going to escort
everyone out to their airplanes?" he asked.

Langenhorst said general aviation has become an American way of life.
While security is an issue, he said, the big fear is that public panic
will kill an industry that hovers on the financial brink.

"There's that standard joke," he said: "How do you make a small fortune
in general aviation? Start with a large fortune."

Attached Photo:

Patrick Brady-Lee flies a Cessna over Lake Pleasant during a lesson
Tuesday.

planesecurity.jpg