Case To Be Heard In Federal Appeals Court In DC

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments on December 2 in a case brought by the NBAA and AOPA that seeks to overturn the restrictions that the government imposed on the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program.

"We are pleased that the general aviation community will soon have its day in court," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "We look forward to explaining to the Court of Appeals why the government's move to severely limit the BARR program represents an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of aircraft owners and operators, a threat to the competitiveness of U.S. companies and a potential security risk to the persons aboard aircraft."

AOPA President and CEO Craig Fuller agreed, adding: "The government's action is unprecedented and unreasonable. Aircraft operators willingly provide information about aircraft movements to the government. But that doesn't mean the information should be available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. That's the case we intend to make on December 2, and we welcome the opportunity to do so."

Bolen and Fuller thanked the general aviation community for its continued support for the two associations' aggressive legal challenge to the government's move to curtail the BARR program, citing the financial contributions provided by individuals and a host of local business aviation groups to the BARR Legal Defense Fund. NBAA and AOPA established the fund earlier this year at the request of individuals in the industry, to provide a means of demonstrating support for their court challenge to preserve the program.

FMI: BARR Legal Defense Fund, NBAA BARR Resource Page