CAA: GA News, "Theft of planes rare, experts say"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, January 9, 2002

Theft of planes rare, experts say
By SCOTT POWERS
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel


ORLANDO, Fla. - Small, private aircraft are rarely stolen in the United
States but not necessarily because the law or normal security makes theft
difficult.

Plane owners and their advocates insist that what Palm Harbor, Fla.,
teen-ager Charles Bishop did Saturday was a tragic fluke.

Only 15 of 221,000 private airplanes were stolen in the United States last
year. And the U.S. airplane theft rate has plummeted dramatically and
steadily from a high of 241 in 1980, back when drug smugglers favored stolen
planes, according to the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute, a
Maryland-based organization funded by insurance companies.

But now critics are calling for more security for small planes. Children
younger than 16 can pilot planes under an instructor's supervision. There
are no psychological screenings for private pilots. And federal laws do not
require security at most of the 5,000 general aviation airports and an
estimated 17,000 more private landing strips.

Even institute president Bob Collins, who cites the low theft rate as
evidence of little public safety threat, insists more can and should be
done. Some, he said, are "sitting ducks."

"Unless something drastic has happened out there since Sept. 11, you're
going to find you can move around unchallenged, walk around and kick the
tires on airplanes, and no one is going to say, 'Hey, what are you doing?"'
he said.

Federal law still does not require - and many general aviation airports
lack - simple measures such as fences, security lighting, 24-hour
observation or even aircraft locks, Collins said. Simple and relatively
inexpensive anti-theft devices advocated by the institute are not required
for planes and are rarely purchased by pilots, he said.

The Airline Owners and Pilots Association, which represents more than
375,000 pilots, is pushing for more federal security governing pilots but
thinks aircraft security is a private issue, and that most owners will do
what is prudent, said spokesman Keith Mordoff.

"How many aircraft were stolen last year? Fifteen," he said. "I'm not a real
expert to say if it is easy or difficult to steal an airplane. They are
stolen. I wouldn't characterize it as a large industry problem."

Yet Collins and Phil Haxton, president of Secure Wings, an Atlanta-based
company that sells aircraft anti-theft devices, insisted that stealing
airplanes is too easy for someone who knows how.

"You don't need a key to start most of them," Haxton said. "You can get into
most of them with a butter knife."

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