My friend Rob Mark runs a great aviation related blog called jetwhine.com. Rob is an authority on both general and commercial aviation as well as a pretty good writer. Yesterday I got an email from him that was positively "agitated". It seems our friendly Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has decided that the same security standards that apply to commercial jetliners should also apply to your neighbors Cessna 172.
The TSA considers both potential weapons of mass destruction and they have issued intent to create rules to impose screening of all general aviation flights, cargoes and passengers just like the big jets. This is utter nonsense. Rob thought so too, so he asked all his blog roll participants to write about the issue. Whatever noise the blogosphere generates has to help the general cause right?
The cost of the program would approximately $44 dollars per flight to every general aviation flight in the United States. In return, general aviation passengers, pilots and crew and FBO operators will have to contend with unnecessary inspections, delays in flight time, and other unnecessary expenses. Face it, a general aviation airplane, even if fully loaded with explosives, and crashed into a building is not the same threat as a 350,000 lb B767 fully loaded with jet fuel. Terrorists just do not use GA airplanes in this way, otherwise, they would have already! Access is much easier and there is no current security screen.
The TSA has shown no capacity to understand the General Aviation market, therefore some "rebellion" from those of us who are AOPA members and general aviation fans, is necessary to make the former Burger King employees at the TSA pay attention. If you are a pilot or user of General Aviation, write your congressman and do it today. This is an important issue. The Obama administration has shown no capacity for understanding or prioritizing transportation issues. Your voice needs to be heard.
Eric
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I think theres a lot of history with rail fans photographing trains etc. Railroad police have been running off all sorts from Hobos to would be vandals and graffiti artists for years. So the railroads have some reason to have aggressive policing tactics.
I've always thought that railfans however were "good fans" and should be promoted, but who is to tell whether the guy with the camera at the rail siding is a fan of the railroad or just looking to collect intel for Osama?
Seems a little basic to me really. Let the railroad police go speak to the guys with the cameras. Ought to be easy from there right?
Posted by: Eric | March 26, 2009 at 07:58 PM
Now Amtrak wants to ban rail fans and model railroaders from photographing its trains.
"What is making our public very angry, is
1. TSA and other security agencies are attempting to "fix things" not broken,
2. while Washington shovels out $Billions to Wall Street Crooks,"
3. and no new jobs are being generated.
We have hear that the TSA is now proposing "all children" have a background checks, before they visit "Thomas the tank engine". TSA wants to created its own multi-Billion dollar "Naughty or Nice" data base, even though Sanata's list is available.
Posted by: WBT-RR | March 25, 2009 at 10:50 AM