WPCNR AIR NEWS. From National Business Aviation Association, Aircraft Owners Pilots Association. (EDITED) January 7, 2009: In comments made to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials Tuesday at Westchester County Airport, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen articulated industry concerns about the agency’s proposed Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) and offered a process for improving the final rule on the proposal. The Aircraft Owners Pilots Association echoed Mr. Bolen’s sentiments at the first of six hearings across the country held by the TSA to come in other venues.
A Jet Charter awaits its passengers at Westchester County Airport. Extensive new Transportation Security Administration proposed security measures applicable to private aircraft and aircraft-for-hire as light as 12,500 pounds threaten the airport extensive charter business.
According to Bolen, the security approach outlined in the agency’s LASP proposal – which is in many ways an overlay of airline security measures onto general aviation – would be unduly burdensome without providing a clear security benefit. Bolen noted four major concerns to illustrate his point:
- As the title for the proposal states, the TSA infers that its plan applies to large aircraft, when in fact, it would apply to aircraft as small as 12,500 lbs. “The entire cabin of a 12,500-pound airplane – from windshield to back bulkhead – could comfortably fit sideways into the planes used in the 9/11 attacks,” Bolen said. “Make no mistake about it: The ‘large aircraft’ security program will apply to some very small aircraft, and the weight threshold must be substantially changed.”
Typical 12,500-lb Gulfstream Private Aircraft on approach at Westchester County Airport. Some twin engine piston aircraft would also be subject to the new TSA proposals.
2. The proposal contains a list of more than 80 “prohibited items,” some of which may be routinely carried aboard business aircraft because they are central to NBAA Members’ business needs. “Does it really make sense for a company sending a team of employees to fix a problem with one of their assembly lines not to be able to access their tools in flight?D Bolen asked. “Does it really make sense for a sporting goods manufacturer not to be able to access their products in flight, as they try to prepare for a sales presentation?”
3. The TSA’s proposal would require owners of some airplanes to develop procedures to carry a federal air marshal when told to do so by the TSA. “It’s hard to understand why our Members would ever need a law enforcement officer aboard their plane, because the company owns the plane and knows everyone aboard,” Bolen reminded agency officials. “Knowing everything there is to know about who your passenger is changes everything, and the proposal doesn’t seem to recognize that fact.”
4. The proposal would establish a broad requirement that NBAA Members pay for external, third-party audits. “The specifics of the audits are not well-articulated,” Bolen said. “But one thing we do know is that outsourcing security is contrary to our national philosophy for use of federal screeners, and in the development of Secure Flight.”
AOPA Northeast Regional Representative Craig Dotlo told the TSA that AOPA has some significant concerns with the proposed rule: It outsources what should be an inherently governmental function—security oversight; it applies commercial standards to general aviation; and, its weight threshold captures very small aircraft, especially when compared to the aircraft used in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
TSA hears from law enforcement authority
While AOPA plans to file formal written comments on the proposed rule, the association took advantage of the Jan. 6 public hearing to let the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) hear from a fellow law enforcement authority.
AOPA Northeast Regional Representative Craig Dotlo managed the FBI’s White Plains Field Office and was responsible for reviewing critical infrastructure facilities, including Westchester County Airport and Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“While the government must take every reasonable precaution to protect the homeland, it is recognized by most experts that it is virtually impossible to protect an open democracy with 10,000 miles of borders against every conceivable attack on bridges, tunnels, airports, nuclear power plants, chemical facilities, dams, and the list goes on,” Dotlo said at the hearing. “The real key to homeland security is a robust, efficacious, and sophisticated intelligence network that can identify prospective terrorist attacks and prevent them from occurring.”
AOPA Rep speaks
As Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs, noted, “It is absolutely vital that security officials hear directly from GA users, as they did at today’s public hearing. But it is equally important that they hear from people like Craig who are knowledgeable in both aviation and security and regulatory issues.”
“AOPA is concerned with the weight threshold that is used for the basis of the regulations and provisions in the rule that outsource security oversight to a third-party auditor,” Dotlo told the panel. “AOPA does not support the NPRM as currently drafted and requests that TSA reconsider the proposed rules, focusing particularly on whether there are less costly and less intrusive ways of enhancing general aviation security.”
The association is also concerned that the program could be applied to all aircraft and all airports in the future.
Speaker after speaker reiterated AOPA’s main points and NBAA’s call for an aviation rulemaking committee.
Other speaker comments included one person who said the TSA seems to be reversing its earlier posture that there is no one-size-fits-all security solution for general aviation. Another said that the TSA had not yet proven, at least publicly, that a credible terrorist threat exists from corporate aviation. And a third worried that such a large expansion of the fleet under the TSA’s oversight would dilute security resources.
“Whether it’s through an aviation rulemaking committee or some other mechanism, AOPA remains committed to working with the TSA to enhance general aviation security in the way that is least burdensome to our members,” said Craig Spence, AOPA vice president of aviation security. “AOPA will attend all of the remaining public meetings and will file more extensive written comments. We urge members to consider doing the same. You can check the AOPA member action center for more information on filing formal comments.”