By ANN Guest-Editor Max Trescott, 2008 National CFI of the
Year
ANN E-I-C Note: Our good friend (indeed,
aviation's good friend) Max Trescott is up in arms over the TSA
LASP cluster#$%^/mess/proposal/you name it and he doesn't like
sitting idly by while the TSA continues to make a mockery of this
embattled process we've come to know as DEMOCRACY. Max
has been taking a close look at the TSA's Large Aircraft Security
Program and like most pilots who've read the proposal, he
doesn't like what he sees. We encourage you to read his blog
posting, "TSA's LASP: A Solution in Search of a Problem." Comments
are due to the TSA by midnight of February 27, 2008, so you'll need
to act soon to file your comments.
Heres what Max has to say... for now.
So far, more than 2800
comments have been filed. However, in spite of this strong
opposition, there always remains the possibility that the TSA may
choose to go forward with the program with few substantive changes.
Therefore, it may be even more important that you let your elected
representatives, particularly those with TSA oversight
responsibility, know your thoughts on the TSA proposal.
In the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology
is responsible for TSA oversight. Specifically, members of the
Aviation Operations, Safety and Security subcommittee are
responsible. Fortunately, some of the states with the largest
number of pilots and flight activity-California, Texas and
Florida-are represented on this committee. Here's the list of
Senators on the subcommittee. If you live in one of these states,
we strongly urge you to contact your Senator now and express your
thoughts on the TSA's LASP proposal.
- Arkansas: Mark Pryor
- California: Barbara Boxer
- Florida: Bill Nelson
- Hawaii: Daniel Inouye
- Louisiana: David Vitter
- Maine: Olympia Snow
- Massachusetts: John Kerry
- Minnesota: Amy Klobachar
- Mississippi: Roger Wicker
- Missouri: Clair McCaskill
- Nevada: John Ensign
- New Jersey: Frank Lautenberg
- North Dakota: Bryon Dorgan
- South Carolina: Jim DeMint
- South Dakota: John Thune
- Texas: Kay Bailey Hutchinson
- Washington: Maria Cantwell
- West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller
In speaking about the improved security benefit, the proposal
says that the TSA "cannot quantify these benefits." Nonetheless the
proposal goes on to say that "…TSA has concluded in this
NPRM that the security benefits of the lower weight threshold of
12,500 pounds are justified by the risk." The proposal is
unclear as to how they determined the benefit of including 12,500
pound aircraft, when they can't quantify the overall benefits of
the program.
The proposal is much clearer on the costs. "TSA estimates that
the large aircraft operators would spend approximately 1 million
hours annually establishing and/or maintaining appropriate security
programs." They also estimate that pilots would pay $1.9 billion
over 10 years, or an average of $44 per flight.
Some of the requirements include:
- Ensure that their flight crew members have undergone a
fingerprint-based criminal history records check (CHRC).
- Conduct watch-list matching of their passengers through
TSA-approved watchlist matching service providers.
- Undergo a biennial audit of their compliance by a TSA-approved
third party auditor.
- Screen passengers for prohibited list items including among
other things, guns, firearms, and certain sharp objects or tools
such as knives, including steak knives and pocket knives.
We at Aero-News are totally opposed to a program that will cost
pilots $1.9 billion, but for which the TSA cannot quantify the
benefits. We're also concerned that while the proposed program
includes aircraft as small as 12,500 pounds, it's conceivable that
the TSA might expand the program in the future to cover all
aircraft. We're all for having security and freedom. However this
program seems to provide no increase in security while greatly
decreasing the utility of aircraft to fly freely where and when
they want. Please let your elected representatives know how you
feel!
How to comment:
Refer to:
Docket No. TSA-2008-0021, “Large Aircraft Security Program,
Other Aircraft Operator Security Program, and Airport Operator
Security Program.”
- Electronically: through the Federal eRulemaking portal
at www.Regulations.gov. (Follow the
online instructions for submitting comments.)
- By Mail or in Person to: Docket Management Facility, US
Dept. of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington DC 20590-0001.
- By Fax to: 202-493-2251.