Boyer Appeals Directly To TSA Chief
AOPA President Phil
Boyer has gone straight to the top to stop implementation of the
Transportation Security Administration’s "alien"
flight-training rule.
"In my almost three years of working with TSA, I have never seen
such an impractical idea," Boyer told TSA chief Adm. David Stone
Thursday morning. "I implore you to delay implementation of this
rule to give us the opportunity to work with you to bring sanity to
it and help you accomplish your security goals."
The phone call prompted an unscheduled meeting between AOPA
Senior Vice President of Government and Technical Affairs Andy
Cebula, AOPA General Counsel John Yodice, and senior TSA policy
officials.
AOPA has already filed a formal petition to suspend the October
compliance date for training in aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or
less, while Yodice has submitted a five-page letter to TSA’s
chief counsel seeking clarification and explanations and
justifications for the rule’s specifics.
"Frankly, I don’t believe that TSA understands the flight
training industry for small general aviation aircraft, and
particularly independent, freelance flight instructors," said
Boyer. "What might work for training in aircraft over 12,500 pounds
doesn’t work for the majority of the GA fleet. One size
doesn’t fit all."
The rule directly affects more than 650,000 U.S.-certificated
pilots, 85,000 resident aliens with U.S. pilot certificates, 93,700
flight students, 88,700 flight instructors, and some 3,400 flight
schools.
As currently written,
the rule requires every student and certificated pilot to prove his
or her citizenship status prior to taking any kind of flight
training, including flight reviews. Flight instructors are required
to keep copies of pilots’ personal information (which could
include social security cards, birth certificates, or passports)
for five years.
In his conversation with Stone, Boyer explained that many flight
instructors pass through the industry quickly as they move on to
other flying jobs. These instructors don’t have offices or
the resources to securely maintain the kinds of files TSA is now
demanding.
Boyer (right) also pointed out that the majority of flight
schools in the United States operate under Part 61, without the
necessity for certification.
"Attempting to take what the Department of Justice did with the
few Part 141 schools that were training foreign nationals in large
aircraft and applying it across the board just will not work," said
Boyer. (Currently the Department of Justice does security screening
on foreigners who apply for training in the United States in
aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds.)
"AOPA supports the mission of improved security, but there are
much better ways to get there than this TSA rule," Boyer said.