Thu, May 13, 2004
General Aviation Coalition Quizzes TSA Chief
The nominated administrator for the
Transportation Security Administration is sensitive to the security
issues his agency creates for general aviation. Acting
Administrator David Stone met with the General Aviation Coalition
(GAC) late last Friday, with representatives from AOPA, the General
Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Air
Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation
Association (NBAA), the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), and
other general aviation organizations, to discuss security issues
affecting general aviation.
"We had Admiral Stone's undivided attention and were able to
raise issues such as the large-scale Presidential TFRs, Washington
(DC) airspace restrictions, and a pending guidance document on
general aviation airport security that directly affects members,"
said AOPA Senior Vice President of Government and Technical Affairs
Andy Cebula.
Cebula raised the tandem issues of the air defense
identification zone (ADIZ) around the Baltimore-Washington area and
the dozen "permanent" temporary flight restrictions established
over military facilities in the immediate aftermath of the
September 11 attacks (and still in place today). The ADIZ, Cebula
said, is smothering general aviation around the nation's capital,
while the military's stated desire to turn some or all of the
"permanent" TFRs into charted prohibited areas is cause for serious
concern among GA pilots.
When asked about the security guidelines that TSA has been
developing for GA airports, Stone said they should be ready in the
very near future and offered high praise for both AOPA's Airport
Watch and the cooperative way it was developed with input from
government security officials. He said it would be a blueprint for
government/industry partnerships in other modes of
transportation.
"Like James Loy, the previous TSA administrator, David Stone is
showing himself to be someone who is willing to work with general
aviation," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "We're often not going
to like the answers we get, but we're finding that, as head of the
Transportation Security Administration, Admiral Stone understands
that 'transportation' is every bit as important as 'security'
is."
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