Posted by Janice Wood
General Aviation News
7/26/2010

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator John Pistole
unveiled two GA security initiatives on opening day of AirVenture in
Oshkosh: The general aviation component of DHS’s nationwide “If You See
Something, Say Something” campaign, and a streamlined system for vetting
passengers and crew on general aviation aircraft on international flights.

“As we saw in the Times Square attempted bombing, the public plays a key
role in security,” said Pistole. “We ask that general aviation pilots and
community members join us in helping to keep general aviation secure
through ‘If You See Something, Say Something’ and by helping to develop new
programs and initiatives, such as our new streamlined vetting system for
international general aviation travel.”

Pilots who see suspicious activity can report it to TSA’s hotline at
866-GA-SECURE.

The announcements came as Napolitano and Pistole visited AirVenture, where
they met with general aviation industry leaders to discuss ongoing efforts
to protect aviation from threats of terrorism.

The “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign — originally implemented
by New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority and funded, in part, by
$13 million from DHS’ Transit Security Grant Program — is a simple program
to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism, crime and other
threats and emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to
the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.

The general aviation “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign is the
second major expansion of the program since June, when Napolitano announced
the initiative’s first phase, for surface transportation. In the coming
months, DHS will continue to expand the campaign nationally with public
education materials, advertisements and other outreach tools to continue
engaging travelers, businesses, community organizations and public and
private sector employees to remain vigilant and play an active role in
keeping our country safe.

Additionally, DHS officials said they will streamline the process for
pre-screening passengers and crews entering and exiting the United States
on general aviation aircraft by allowing pilots and operators of general
aviation flights to submit a single manifest to the Electronic Advance
Passenger Information System (eAPIS) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s
(CBP) online tool for submitting general aviation data.

This will fulfill both CBP reporting and TSA international waiver
requirements, and promote a department-wide approach to maintaining robust
general aviation security standards, according to Napolitano. DHS expects
the streamlined system to take effect Sept. 1.

“We are encouraged to see TSA and CBP collaborating to streamline the
process for our members and eliminate unnecessary paperwork and redundant
procedures,” said Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President and CEO
Craig Fuller. “This decision demonstrates their commitment to improving the
efficiency of the system for all users, and we look forward to working with
both agencies to identify additional opportunities for improvement.”

“Security has always been a top priority for the business aviation
community, and these two new security enhancements reflect an understanding
of how our industry operates, and also how government and industry can
enhance security without sacrificing mobility,” said National Business
Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen.