CAA: GA News, "Private transport system in need of safeguards, too"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Friday, January 11, 2002

Opinion
Private transport system in need of safeguards, too 
The Modesto (CA) Bess


The suicide flight of a 15-year-old Florida student pilot into a Tampa
skyscraper last week has awakened the nation to how vulnerable its
private air transport system is.

While the government is poised to spend billions to scan every person
and piece of luggage that boards a commercial airliner, private aviation
after Sept. 11 operates pretty much the way it did before Sept. 11.
Chances are, things will stay that way.

The private fleet is huge. It includes more than 200,000 airplanes, 96
percent of the nation's nonmilitary aircraft. Most private planes are
small, like the single-engine Cessna the Florida teen-ager piloted, but
not all. The Sacramento Kings basketball team crisscrosses the country
in a private jet not that much different from the ones terrorists flew
into the World Trade Center. Those terrorists trained for their deadly
mission on private airplanes operating out of private airports. The
potential for mischief is considerable, the opportunities infinite.

Despite that, it would be a mistake and a waste of money to impose the
kind of exhaustive security checks for private aviation that are now
required at public airports. Such measures would destroy an industry
that has expanded our economy and given pleasure to thousands of
law-abiding citizens.

Still, more vigorous, common-sense precautions are needed. In the wake
of the Tampa incident, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued 11
recommendations, all voluntary. Some, like using different keys for
aircraft ignition and door locks, might make sense. Others, including
psychiatric screening of student pilots before beginning flying lessons,
are of questionable value.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has recommended that the
government issue new "difficult-to-counterfeit pilot licenses" and
review all existing licenses to ensure that the pilots are not on any
terrorist "watch lists." That should be done.

No matter what steps are taken, the public must accept that government
cannot eliminate all risks.


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