Says Leesburg Municipal Is Unsecured
In yet another broadcast news story touting the homeland
security threat posed to the general population by GA airports,
Daytona Beach (FL) NBC affiliate WESH aired a news story Wednesday
citing Leesburg (FL) Regional Airport and the theft of an aircraft
from Embry-Riddle University. The AOPA said, as has been the case
with similar reports recently, this one was chock-full of
errors.
The story began with this: "Nearly three years after the worst
attacks ever on American soil, you may be no safer from terrorists
who use planes as weapons. On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists used big
jets; next time they could use small planes..."
The initial focus on the story was the February 17th theft of a
Cessna 172 from Massey Airfield in Edgewater (FL). The aircraft was
flown to Leesburg Regional and stripped of its avionics and
propeller.
Calling Leesburg "typical of most of
the nation's 19,000 small airports that are home to more than
200,000 private planes," reporter Greg Fox drove his vehicle onto
the tarmac. He said, "Anybody could drive out there, including
people who have no idea how to drive around airport property to
avoid aircraft to prevent an accident.... Many planes were not
locked (Fox opened the doors to several), and a mechanic said it's
easier to hotwire and steal a plane than a car."
Citing the possibility that terrorists might use general
aviation aircraft as human-guided weapons, Fox told his viewers,
"The real question is how dangerous a small plane might be. It
doesn't look very big inside a single-engine plane, but experts
said a pilot could just remove all of the seats and have storage
all the way back into the tail. Besides the pilot, there's enough
room to hold 500 to 600 more pounds."
The story quoted AOPA President Phil Boyer, who granted WESH an
interview during the recent Sun 'N Fun Fly-In at Lakeland (FL):
"There is a tremendous difference between the threat and risk of a
small airplane and that of an air transport aircraft loaded with
jet fuel."
Fox's report ended with this dire warning: "Leesburg Airport
security will improve this fall. The state is spending more than
$300,000 on the kind of doors, gates and fencing that is already in
place at Daytona Beach, Orlando Executive, and a few other local
airports. But for most the gate is wide open to anyone who might
use planes as weapons."