Update: September 26, 2007

GA Airports, Flight Training, and 9/11

On the fateful day of September 11, 2001 Mohammed Atta commandeered American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A few minutes later fellow terrorist Marwan al Shehhi steered United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. In preparation for this attack, Atta and Shehhi obtained pilot's licenses and received large jet flight simulator instruction at Huffman Aviation in Venice Florida. They also trained at Jones Aviation in Sarasota, Florida.

Hani Hanjour who piloted American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon obtained his pilot's license from Arizona Aviation and his flight simulator training at the Pan Am International Flight Academy in Mesa, Arizona. He also trained and practiced at Air Fleet Training Systems in Teterboro, New Jersey and Caldwell Flight Academy in Fairfield, New Jersey.

United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed short of its presumed Washington DC target came down in Pennsylvania. This aircraft was piloted by Ziad Jarrah who received his private pilot training at the Florida Flight Training Center in Venice, Florida.

According to the 911 Commission Report the terrorists had researched the possibility of obtaining flight training in Europe but chose the US on a recommendation from a flight school director who informed them that flight schools in the US "were less expensive and required shorter training periods."

The 911 report further noted that "The terrorists exploited deep institutional failings within our government." This point is well illustrated in part by the direct role taxpayer-subsidized general aviation airports and private flight training facilities played in providing resources and instruction for the terrorists who carried out their deadly mission.

Yet despite these glaring weaknesses in the aviation security system, more than 6 years after the 9/11 attack very little has been done to mandate security guidelines at general aviation airports—even though 75% of the air traffic in this country is classified as general aviation. In fact FAA policies in this country continue to protect the rights of international and national general aviation pilots to fly wherever, whenever they want while dismissing the security, safety, noise and environmental concerns of established residents.

GAO and General Aviation Security

The Government Accounting Office's (GAO) progress report on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released on September 6, 2007, which credited DHS with only moderate success in achieving aviation security performance expectations, warned that "any DHS failure to effectively carry out its mission would expose the nation to potentially serious consequences."

A 2004 GAO report entitled "Aviation Security: Improvement Still Needed in Federal Aviation Security Efforts" further elaborates on the weaknesses in the general aviation security system:

Not only are commercial aircraft a concern, but general aviation aircraft can be a security concern. TSA has taken limited action to improve general aviation security, leaving general aviation far more open and potentially vulnerable than commercial aviation. General aviation is vulnerable because general aviation pilots and passengers are not screened before takeoff and the contents of general aviation planes are not screened at any point. General aviation includes more than 200,000 privately owned airplanes, which are located in every state at more than 19,000 airports. In the last 5 years, about 70 aircraft have been stolen from general aviation airports, indicating a potential weakness that could be exploited by terrorists. This vulnerability was demonstrated in January 2002, when a teenage flight student stole and crashed a single-engine airplane into a Tampa, Florida skyscraper. Moreover, general aviation aircraft could be used in other types of terrorist acts. It was reported that the September 11th hijackers researched the use of crop dusters to spread biological or chemical agents.

TSA and General Aviation

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is one of the agencies under the jurisdiction of the DHS. A May 2004 TSA publication "Security Guidelines for General Aviation Airports" outlines the approach the TSA has taken in addressing security at general aviation airports. The report, which defined general aviation (GA) as "all civil aviation except scheduled passenger and scheduled cargo service and military aviation," expressed a concern that security requirements might "pose an unnecessary burden on airport owners and operators."

This document explained that the Working Group which developed this report was comprised entirely of industry stakeholders. In addition to GA airport managers and representatives of various state government aviation agencies its membership included representatives from the following groups:

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Airport Consultants Council
American Association of Airport Executives
Experimental Aircraft Association
General Aviation Manufacturers Association
Helicopter Association International
National Air Transportation Association
National Association of State Aviation Officials
National Business Aviation Association
United States Parachute Association

Impacted citizens and community groups whose security is compromised on a daily basis by the profit-driven and expansionistic bias of the Working Group representatives were given no voice whatsoever in developing security standards for GA activities. As a result there are no mandated security measures in place for GA airports in this country. Instead what this group produced was a list of recommendations and guidelines that are not legally enforceable.

Local Implications

Within a 30-40 mile radius of Portland there are over a million annual aviation operations. Less than one quarter of these are required by federal law to undergo security checks. Many are student pilots whose training often requires repetitive maneuvers over the homes and neighborhoods of area residents. In addition to posing serious security and safety risks, these aircraft generate a substantial amount of noise and environmental pollution.

Washington County is particularly vulnerable to security breaches insofar as the Hillsboro Airport, the second largest in the state, logs a quarter million or more operations annually, none of which are subject to mandated security requirements. Add to this number aircraft activity from the other 25 GA airports in the county as well as nearby Scappoose Airport in Columbia County and there are in all probability between 300,000 to 400,000 aircraft operations over our homes and neighborhoods each year, none of which are required to undergo security checks of any kind. This number, which does not include commercial flights out of PDX, averages out to approximately one flight per year for every Washington County resident—despite the fact that less than 1/4 of 1% of the population is even licensed to fly.

Hillsboro Airport tenant, Hillsboro Aviation, has developed into one of the largest flight training outfits in the country. Historically they have claimed that 40% of their students are from outside the U.S. These prospective pilots are told that they have the right to fly wherever, whenever they want with no consideration for the concerns of established citizens who are footing the bill for their use of the airspace and for the airport infrastructure out of which they train. Due to the lack of radar throughout much of the county, the Port of Portland, the State Department of Aviation, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) all claim that they have neither the means nor the responsibility for tracking aircraft below 2000 feet.

Stark's Twin Oaks which is located in Washington County and logs approximately 16,000 annual operations also provides flight training, as does Mike Applebee and Applebee Aviation. For several years now residents in the Banks/Buxton area of rural Washington County have been fending off Mike Applebee's attempts to develop the Apple Valley personal use airstrip into a commercial facility that provides helicopter training and scenic tours. His efforts have met with widespread community opposition from area residents. In addition there are more than 20 other airports and airstrips in this county. On any given day there may be close to 1000, perhaps more, unmonitored flights over this region, that is to say over the homes and neighborhoods of area residents none of whom were consulted as to whether or not they were willing to compromise their security and that of the entire nation so that private aviation interests could profit at their expense.

LNG Pipeline and Terminal Heighten Risk of Terrorist Attack

In recent weeks a number of articles, editorials, and letters to the editor have appeared in local newspapers about efforts underway to site a natural gas terminal at Bradwood Landing on the Columbia River near Astoria. This project which would involve laying a network of pipelines throughout Washington, Clatsop, and Clackamas County farm and forest land has proven to be justifiably alarming to a number of Oregon residents in part because terminals of this nature and the tankers which transport the gas have been identified as potential terrorist targets.

An 8/26/07 Oregonian editorial noted that Richard Clark, a former United States top counterterrorism official, in his book Against All Enemies, warned "that each ship holding as much energy as a nuclear weapon, could produce a fire three miles wide, or worse." The article goes on to pose the question "As one of those tankers sails past Astoria, what's to protect it from a light plane filled with explosives?" Clearly if this terminal is approved there is good reason to be concerned about this terrorist scenario in light of the appalling lack of aviation security throughout the region. Even an unanticipated accident connected with the terminal, a transport ship, or the pipeline not involving terrorists could cause untold damage.

Brent Foster, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, in an 8/28/07 Oregonian editorial, pointed out that "According to studies for the U.S. Sandia National Labs, a terrorist attack on an LNG tanker off Astoria's shore has the potential to engulf the city in flames."

The pipelines themselves also pose a serious risk as evidenced by the damage done when Mexican rebels attacked natural gas pipelines on September 10, 2007. In the words of Associated Press reporter Miguel Hernandez:

The six explosions could be seen miles away, and set off fires that sent flames and black smoke shooting high above the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. At least a dozen pipelines, most carrying natural gas, were affected, said Jesus Reyes Heroles, the head of Mexico's oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, without providing specifics. The explosions occurred in valve stations where different pipelines intersect. He said there would be hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production and about nine states and the capital, Mexico City, would be affected.

Potential attacks of this nature are of grave concern especially in light of the Government Accounting Office (GAO) report released on September 6, 2007 which was critical of the Department of Homeland Security and its ability to effectively curtail or defend against a national emergency.

Recommendations

Mandated security measures should be put in place for general aviation aircraft and airports. Towards this end a new TSA working group should be formed. To insure an unbiased approach in establishing security measures for GA airports no working group member should stand to profit in any way from GA activities. All GA lobbyists and their representatives should be prohibited from sitting on this committee.

The well-heeled GA community has for far too long been subsidized by taxpayers. This should stop immediately. There are better areas in which to invest taxpayer dollars including far less polluting modes of transportation such as high speed rail.

GA airport owners and operators should be required to pay the full cost of mandated security measures.

Plans to site a dangerous LNG terminal in Oregon should be halted. This undertaking creates a serious security risk and infringes on the rights of property owners whose private land would be torn asunder to accommodate a pipeline, the presence of which would leave area residents vulnerable to accidents and leaks as well as terrorist attacks.

Ben Kaplan in an article entitled "Liquefied Natural Gas: A Potential Terrorist Target?" stated that "Forty-five percent of the world's natural gas reserves are found in the Persian Gulf with Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates holding the most gas." It is essential that US citizens modify their life styles to lessen their dependence on foreign energy resources. Just as no human life should be sacrificed in an ill-conceived effort to gain control over Iraqi oil supplies, no blood should be spilled nor land destroyed either intentionally or accidentally to gain access to natural gas reserves in the Middle East or elsewhere in this world.

Sources

Aviation Security: Improvement Still Needed in Federal Aviation Security Efforts. Government Accounting Office. 2004.

Department of Homeland Security Progress Report on Implementation of Mission and Management Functions. Government Accounting Office. September 6, 2007.

"LNG Projects Invite Skepticism". Oregonian editorial. August 26, 2007.

Mexican Rebels Claim Pipeline Attacks. Miguel Hernandez. Associated Press. September 10, 2007.

9/11 Commission Report. Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

Security Guidelines for General Aviation Airports. Transportation Security Administration. May 2004.