CAA: GA News, "Crop dusters affected by lack of air time"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Monday, September 9, 2002

Sept. 11 remembered
Crop dusters affected by lack of air time
By Rick Storm
The Amarillo (TX) Globe-News


Those who take to the air for agriculture learned one thing for sure after
the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.

"We need to do a better job of educating the public on the agricultural
aviation industry," said Pat Kornegay, owner of Sun Valley Dusting Co. in
San Benito and president of the approximately 2,000-member American
Agricultural Aviation Association (AAAA).

"The airline industry was back in the air in three days with a $15 billion
aid package while we went through three groundings and were the butt of a
lot of harmful speculation by the news media."

The fear that the dusters could be used to poison the food supply began when
reports surfaced that three Middle Eastern men reportedly inquired about
crop-duster planes during visits before the Sept. 11 attacks to a
single-runway airport in Belle Glade, Fla.

And other reports detailed that Zacarias Moussaoui, accused as a
co-conspirator in the Sept. 11 attacks, e-mailed the University of Minnesota
in July 2001, seeking information on a short course to become a crop duster.

While the airline industry received a bailout, agricultural aviators had to
settle for federal economic injury loan assistance in the wake of the
attacks, with an April 11, 2001, deadline.

Eligible businesses could receive U.S. Small Business Administration loans
of up to $1.5 million, with a 4 percent interest rate and a maximum term of
30 years. The SBA determined the amount of economic injury, the term of each
loan and the payment amount, based on financial circumstances of each
borrower.

Kornegay said his industry lost about $40 million in revenue because of the
three groundings following Sept. 11. That figure could go as high as $60
million to $70 million if crop losses were counted.

For example, he said the flying prohibition in Class B airspace, which is
around airports, caused the loss of 60,000 to 70,000 acres of cotton in the
30-mile radius around the airport at Memphis, Tenn.

He said crop dusters were unable to spray defoliant on cotton at the proper
time, and rains ruined the cotton.

Kornegay said the government reacted to a speculative media frenzy rather
than an assessment of the facts.

"Our aircraft are not suited to most pilots; most pilots can't fly our
airplanes," Kornegay said. "There's a high-horsepower engine and a tail
wheel. That means there's a lot of horsepower and a lot of instability."

A plane with a tail wheel has a landing wheel at the rear of the aircraft
instead of at the nose like conventional aircraft and is more difficult to
land and take off.

In addition, Kornegay said, an agricultural pilot must be able to hit a
tight target at close range, about 15 feet from the ground.

"It takes years to develop an agricultural pilot to where they can hit the
target," he said. "It would be practically impossible to try to disperse
something 15 feet from the ground in an urban area."

Kornegay said agents like anthrax, smallpox and nerve agents typically are
300-micron particles, while aviation aircraft typically disperse much finer
5-micron particles.

Additionally, Kornegay said, the dispersal system is an integral part of the
airplane, and that would make agricultural airplanes impractical for
terrorist attacks because the entire aircraft would have to be modified.

"There has never been an incident where an agricultural airplane has been
used for (terrorist) activities," he said.

Even so, Kornegay said the AAAA recognizes its responsibility to be diligent
and has taken steps to urge caution on the part of agricultural aviators and
has issued a set of security consideration for operators.

Jared Dosher of Cropdusters Inc. in Clovis, N.M., agreed with Kornegay on
the feasibility of using crop dusting aircraft for terrorist attacks.

"It would be impossible to do without a lot of modification," he said. "It
would be cheaper to rig an ordinary airplane."

Like Kornegay, he agreed agricultural aviators need to remain vigilant and
stay on guard.

"People are scared," he said. "We're at the airport, so there's a lot of
people watching."

Gaylon Stamps, owner of Stamps Spraying Service in Panhandle, said that
while operations haven't really drastically changed, crop dusting firms are
keeping their eyes peeled.

"We do keep our eyes open more," he said. "We keep closer track on materials
than we did before."

In addition, Stamps said, the location of his business, which is proximate
to Pantex and the Amarillo International Airport, prompted his firm to be
diligent.

"We're just a little more cautious near Pantex and the airport," he said.

And Stamps said the Sept. 11 aftermath had prompted positive changes by the
FAA.

"The FAA has updated its database of all sprayers," he said. "The
communication tree is a lot better. Everybody is doing a better job of
communicating now."

Texas Department of Agriculture spokesman Allen Spelce said his agency had
been pro-active since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We actually instituted a notification plan for grounding," he said.

Additionally, the agriculture department sent out a release of guidelines
and activities to be on the lookout for to the approximately 600
agricultural aviation operations in the state.

Attached Photo:

Ag Aviator: The skies were not too friendly after Sept. 11, but crop duster
Gaylon Stamps of Panhandle says the Federal Aviation Administration has
improved communication since the attacks.

cropduster.jpg