Fri, Mar 19, 2004
Agency Says GA Vulnerable To Terrorist Attacks
On March 5, 2004, the
General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report to the Department
of Homeland Security entitled Aviation Security: Factors Could
Limit the Effectiveness of the Transportation Security
Administration's Efforts to Secure Aerial Advertising Operations,
identifying possible issues should the ban on such flights be
lifted by Congress.
"While we are pleased that the issue of the restrictions on
aerial advertising is being addressed," said Eric Byer, director of
government and industry affairs for NATA, "we are concerned that
the GAO commented on general aviation security as a whole."
Beginning in December 2001, the FAA and the TSA implemented
processes to allow certain pilots and aircraft to operate over
stadium events by waiving flight restrictions. However, in
February 2003, Congress passed legislation that prevented aerial
advertising pilots from flying near stadium airspace during certain
sporting events by suspending the waiver process for one
year. In the 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress
continued this restriction indefinitely.
In the report, the GAO concludes that a variety of factors make
general aviation vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The GAO
also expressed concern over the way background checks were
conducted for aerial advertising operations, stating that factors
were identified that could limit the effectiveness of the
background checks and that inconsistencies existed in the manner in
which information was collected to identify pilots and match them
to the results of the checks conducted.
"The report the GAO was tasked to accomplish was on aerial
advertising flights, not on security at general aviation airports
and the supposed inconsistencies in background checks," added
Byer. "Considering that the GAO is in the midst of conducting
an investigation into general aviation airport security the
comments are completely inappropriate."
However, the report does state that the TSA does not believe
that aerial advertising poses a significant threat.
"We sincerely hope that those on Capitol Hill who have been
instrumental in preventing aerial advertising operations over
stadium events will heed the TSA's belief that those operations are
not a significant threat and eliminate the existing prohibition,"
Byer concluded.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All