Coyne Says NBC Owes Fostaire 'Huge' Apology
On August 11, two NBC
reporters posing as foreign businessmen attempted to charter a
helicopter at Fostaire Helicopters, a member of the National Air
Transportation Association (NATA) and a Part 135 operator based at
St. Louis Downtown Airport, in Sauget, IL.
"We got a call from a prospective customer asking about a scenic
flight," said Clarke Thomas, president of Fostaire Helicopters.
"They wanted to know how close they could get to the St Louis
landmarks and they said price was no object. That raised a red flag
right away because any businessman is always concerned with price.
When they arrived they were carrying duffel bags and
backpacks-something else that is very unusual."
The two men were carrying luggage with concealed box cutters,
knives and other weapons and planned to pay for the charter flight
with cash. Arlene Thomas, vice president of Fostaire Helicopters,
was immediately suspicious and stalled for time while the FBI and
local police were called. The police came and arrested the two
individuals and later determined that they were on assignment for
NBC to produce a story on how easy it is to charter a helicopter
for a terrorist flight.
"NBC claims they did
nothing wrong, that they were just 'testing the system'," continued
Clarke. "That may be so but in my book what they did was the
equivalent of robbing a bank and then when the police arrive,
saying, 'We were just testing the security at the bank.' It is
inappropriately testing the system."
"NBC owes Arlene and Clarke Thomas a huge apology," stated NATA
president James K. Coyne. "Not only is this an egregious waste of
time for all involved but it calls law enforcement authorities away
from what could be real emergencies. It's harassment-pure and
simple, and inexcusable."
"We have said all along that charter operators have a built-in
security mechanism that was in place long before 9/11," added
Coyne. "Part of it is knowing your customers and part of it is
being constantly alert. This incident proves without a doubt that
the system works. Arlene Thomas knew something was not right and
did the correct thing."
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It has been reported
that NBC is planning similar "penetration" stories throughout the
country.
"With all the real news stories taking place today," said
Coyne," I would think that NBC could think of better ways to employ
their reporters.
Coyne has sent a letter to the president of NBC News, Neil
Shapiro, demanding an apology to Fostaire.
Immediately after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, NATA
formed a Business Aviation Security Task Force with representatives
from a broad cross section of industry and government. The Task
Force later issued security recommendations and guidelines for
airports and aviation businesses.