…Vs. The Reality…

The WABC story did mention that perhaps a small aircraft is no more dangerous than a truck or a car packed with explosives. Yet some of the “porous” airports housed larger charter planes, WABC said. And the report noted that the Department of Homeland Security has made recommendations for improvements at small airports, but it has issued “virtually no security requirements for general aviation.” Of course that failure to issue “requirements” could tie in with the reluctance to find billions of dollars to implement them. In fact, despite the lack of requirements, extensive security precautions have been implemented at thousands of GA airports nationwide, and that trend is likely to continue. For example, the FAA requires that pilots carry a photo ID, the TSA now must approve flights of foreign-registered GA aircraft into the U.S., the TSA has instituted new security procedures for charter operations involving aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds, and background checks are required for some students. The TSA in December released a GA Working Group study on airport security, and that report’s recommendations are likely to start having an effect this year.