Comments On Airman Security Rule

Tuesday was the last day to comment on the FAA’s recent final rule that allows the TSA to deem any pilot a security threat, making that person ineligible to hold any FAA airman certificate. There is no appeal except to the TSA, which may not reveal its evidence, at its own discretion. About 640 comments were filed, many expressing concern over the lack of due process and the efficacy of the rule. “How many of the 9/11 hijackers had FAA documents?” asks one. “All of my rights as an American [are going] right down the drain,” says another. Advocacy groups also had negative reactions. The Aircraft Electronics Association wants the rule rescinded, saying: “Removing the airman certificate from a key employee in a repair station could cripple the business. Performing such a removal without sufficient cause represents a severe harm on a business that is not correlative to any safety concern.” The National Business Aviation Association doesn’t like it either: “Giving an airman 15 days to respond in writing to a revocation that already has become effective and without any information as to why the action was taken barely is any process, let alone the process due under the Fifth Amendment.” The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association asks that the rule be amended to allow for appeal to the NTSB. The EAA says the rule is “unconstitutional and leaves open a huge gap that could snare law-abiding U.S. citizens.” The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations says: “The new TSA and FAA rules in their present form are unconstitutional and improper, in our view.” Maybe there were some positive comments among those 640, but we didn’t find any.