Fixing Something That Is Not Broken

There is an NPRM on the street proposing to include general aviation aircraft that weigh 12,500 pounds or more under many of the same security rules that are in effect for commercial airliners. Frankly, I think this is ludicrous. To attempt to apply the same security rules such as background checks, passenger manifests, fingerprinting crews including maintenance personnel, and restricting what items may be carried on the aircraft is inane. Air carrier operations and large commercial airports are repetitive in scope and functions enabling consistent security parameters are put in place. On the other hand, business aircraft ops (Part 91 and 135) are by their very nature required to be flexible. Passengers often are not confirmed to the last minute, packages may require last minute delivery, and maintenance is often done on the run. Dispatch reliability is foremost. Placing the same constraints that are applicable and work for commercial airliners does not make sense for business aviation. If this occurs, business aviation will suffer another hit in this down economy and jobs will be lost unnecessarily. I understand that a 757 flown privately appears to impart the same risk as one flown by an airline. In fact, there is probably a need for some security guarantee in this area; however, the 12,500 number just doesn’t do it for me. This is an arbitrary number established in the 1960s to establish a federal standard for “large aircraft.†To my knowledge there is no real basis behind this. As a result, aircraft like King Air 350s are included as a security threat. Give me a break! Additionally, the TSA admits they are not staffed sufficiently to ensure operators are in compliance with the rules and propose independent auditors be hired to do this job. The majority of the cost for this is to be borne by the operator. Frankly, if it were not true, this whole thing would be laughable. I am all for greater security for the traveling public and business aviation. I am not for unilateral and unnecessary government regulation, especially one that has its own critical mass and is bound to expand beyond control. There is already too much regulation costing dollars and jobs in our business.