CAA: GA News, "Apparent thefts of small planes raise concerns"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Monday, September 30, 2002   
 
Apparent thefts of small planes raise concerns
The Columbia (SC) State


CHARLESTON, S.C. - In another day and time, the taking of two small
planes from Charleston-area airports might not have caused widespread
concern. But in a post 9/11 world, both incidents raise questions.

What if a terrorist had been at the controls of a single-engine plane
taken in August from the Charleston Executive Airport and flown to
Greenville? What if the same had been true in the case of two young men
who allegedly took a joy ride in a small plane from the Berkeley County
Airport.

"This could've been a bad situation," said Chief Deputy C.W. "Butch"
Henerey of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office, noting that plane could
have been shot down because of heightened security in the past year.

"Obviously, planes can be stolen just like cars," said Sam Hoerter,
executive director of Charleston County's three municipal airports,
including the Charleston Executive Airport on Johns Island. "We've
encouraged pilots to install prop locks and throttle locks on their
planes."

The private contractors, or fixed-base operators, who oversee operations
at the authority's two general aviation airports have been encouraged to
lock gates and be wary, Hoerter said.

Johnnie McManus, manager for the fixed-base operator at East Cooper
Airport in Charleston County, said security there is tighter.

"Since 9/11, we've locked the gates. Some of our people don't like it
and have asked that we install locks on the gates that can be opened
with a coded card, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime
soon," he said.

Authorities say both alleged thefts appear to have been inside jobs. The
man accused of stealing the plane from Johns Island apparently worked
there while one of the men charged in Berkeley County was apparently a
student pilot.

In that incident, an air traffic controller became suspicious when the
plane flew into controlled airspace around Charleston International
Airport without establishing radio contact.

Pilots can take off and land at airfields with no control towers without
radio contact as long as they remain clear of airspace around major
airports.

"Anything reasonable, we've supported," said Warren Morningstar, vice
president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in Frederick,
Md. "The vast majority of our members would support improvements in
safety and security."

But Morningstar said the 385,000-member association would question a
rule requiring all pilots to file flight plans.

"We don't have any rules that keep small boats three miles from our
ports, but it was a small boat that hit the USS Cole," he said. "We
think the chance is very small that a terrorist would use an airplane
that's smaller than a Honda as a weapon. It makes more sense to focus on
larger aircraft or other forms of transportation."


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