A Reminder About Terrorism

Today's headlines bring home how it infiltrated an industry... His name is Moussaoui, and headlines of late center around his trial as the only person arrested in the U.S. alleged to be directly tied to the 9/11 killings. This week, the prosecution brought on a former FBI agent and FAA security official to testify what has become obvious - the warning signs were there for those who were looking. A couple of flight schools were; national commissions were (NCARC; The Gore Commission); but the American people, and thus governmental Washington, weren't. (Which, of course, is why no definitive domestic security initiatives were undertaken in the 1990s to address the threat.) The testimony this week about the role of U.S. flight schools led to a little investigation of the role flight schools played, including a brief scan once again of the official "9/11 Commission" report. The search identifies ties to flight training operations in Arizona, California, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oklahoma. This probably is not a complete list. Many industry security initiatives have been undertaken since 9/11; some mandated, many not. Still, revisiting the reality of 9/11 is a good reminder as to why all of this is truly necessary. (Watch for an update from next week's Aviation Industry Expo in Las Vegas.) Thanks for reading.