Paranoia Isn't Just An American Idea Anymore

Is New York Senator Chuck Schumer moonlighting in the British government? Well, that's admittedly unlikely... but someone in Great Britain has certainly been reading from the same playbook, to the consternation of the global general aviation community.

Lord Carlile of Berriew is the British government's anti-terrorism expert. In a 60-page report on Britain's susceptibility to a terror attack, Carlile expressed fears that private planes could be used to target buildings... and called for higher level checks of aircraft flying from Europe to the UK.

Noting there are an estimated 8,500 private aircraft in Britain, flying from some 500 "landing sites" -- ranging from fields to airports -- Carlile claimed it would be "relatively simple" to organize an airborne attack using a small plane.

To combat that threat, Carlile suggests a Big Brother-esque system whereby government security officials could monitor who uses British airports. Such a system could also be established to monitor aircraft coming in from European Union member nations.

Currently, Carlile said, an aircraft could land at an EU airport, and then be regarded as a friendly plane when it crosses into British airspace... regardless of its true country of origin. "This is self-evidently unsatisfactory," he said.

Senior officials have "real anxiety [about] the potential use of light aircraft as vehicle bombs against places of public aggregation," Carlile added. "I know that some knowledgable police officers and officials have ongoing concerns about the relative simplicity of terrorism conducted in this way, given the very large number of private aircraft and small airfields."

Not surprisingly, general aviation groups take umbrage with many of Carlile's claims. Martin Robinson, chief executive of the UK branch of the International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (IAOPA), notes other pilots and airport operators already self-monitor security, through programs similar to the successful Airport Watch program used in the States.

Robinson also played down the risk from small aircraft, saying light planes offer an "easy target for people to make a terror claim," and the risk posed by a small plane is "no greater" than driving an SUV loaded with explosives into a building, as was done last year during an attack at Glasgow Airport.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith also seemed unconvinced of Carlile's claims, telling the anti-terrorism chief she "noted your flagging of the potential for small aircraft to be used as vehicle bombs and your observation that there is no intelligence to suggest this forms part of terrorist thinking."

Still, she added, The Department [for Transport] keeps this potential threat under review as part of its wider protective security responsibilities, and is participating in discussions in Europe of the possible security regulation of general aviation at the EU level."

FMI: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/, www.aopa.co.uk