"Billy Bob Bin Laden"?

There's humor, then there's satire, then there's what the New York Times published on Wednesday.

National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James K. Coyne submitted a rebuttal Thursday to ridiculous comments made by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in an article in Wednesday's paper.

 
Friedman asserts "anyone who has flown on a private jet since 9/11 can tell you that security at these private terminals is still so lax that if you showed up in a Saudi headdress with a West Virginia driver's license under the name of 'Billy Bob bin Laden' and asked for flight directions for your chartered Learjet to Lower Manhattan, there's a good chance no one would stop you."
 
"While Tom Friedman was trying to be funny imagining that "Billy Bob bin Laden" could charter a Learjet and fly it to Manhattan, please inform his readers that the air charter industry is serious about security," Coyne wrote to the New York Times Editor. "Though air charter provides unparalleled convenience and efficiency, we place the highest priority on assuring that terrorists will never misuse our aircraft.
 
"Last year, NBC reporters thought they could charter an aircraft and pretend to attack St. Louis. They ended up in the hands of the FBI after company employees smelled a rat. Although we prudently keep our procedures confidential, every jet charter operator maintains security programs, approved by the TSA, which prevent terrorists from taking control of the aircraft. 
 
"The broader point of the article, however, has merit: As America achieves success in Iraq, we must not let down our guard at home. Air charter companies never have -– and we never will."

FMI: www.nata.aero