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."