…While Conn. Airports Examine GA Security

While those in Washington debate the what-ifs of letting GA penetrate arguably the most secure airspace in the country, the good folks of Danbury, Conn., would be happy to come up with an effective and affordable way to prevent drunks from going for joyrides at the local airport. As AVweb told you Thursday, the pilot of beer-can-laden Cessna 172 is facing various charges after he landed the plane, reported stolen from Danbury, at Westchester County Airport in New York last Wednesday. Security guards reported that empties tumbled out as he and his teenaged passengers got out of the plane at about 4:15 a.m. Now, of course, Danbury officials must review security at their airport. Danbury has put padlocks on the airport gates (replacing the push-button code locks for which the combination was displayed for all to see), called for more police patrols at the airport and is in the process of hiring private security personnel to patrol the field. Danbury’s pain is being spread among all the state’s 130 airports, however. Gov. M. Jodi Rell has called for a statewide airport security review because of the incident. Meanwhile, local officials are preparing a shopping list of potential security initiatives ranging from background checks on student pilots to mandatory prop locks or wheel boots.