Aero News Network
10/10/2008

The days of relatively unfettered travel onboard large business aircraft
may soon come to an abrupt end. Thursday morning, the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) unveiled its proposed rule that will govern
operations for all aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds, which would
require those operators to implement an approved security program.

The proposed security rules, titled the "Large Aircraft Security Program,"
would impose security programs on thousands of privately-operated general
aviation aircraft and ultimately seek to combine a number of security
programs currently in place for general aviation, including the Twelve-Five
Standard Security Program, into a single, uniform program.

The National Air Transport Association provides the following background:

In November 2007, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary
Michael Chertoff introduced the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) at
NATA's Aviation Business Roundtable in Washington, DC. Prior public
comments by TSA officials, as well as information provided by the White
House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), explained that the new
security program will require operators of aircraft with a maximum
certificated takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds to obtain and
implement the TSA's Large Aircraft Security Program. This is the same
category of aircraft that today must comply with the Twelve-Five Standard
Security Program if used in air charter operations. The proposed rule, if
adopted, will apply to privately operated aircraft.

Late last week, the OMB gave its approval for the TSA to publish the
proposed rule for public review and comment. In a conference call this
morning, TSA officials briefed NATA and other industry groups on the
proposal, and the agency has posted a copy of the notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) on their Web site for early review prior to publication
in the Federal Register.

The NPRM is the result of a sweeping review of private aircraft operations
by DHS, and its TSA underlings. As ANN reported earlier this year, Chertoff
strongly hinted DHS planned to issue requirements for crews and passengers
of private jets to provide their names, birthdates and other information an
hour before takeoff, so they can be checked against terrorist watch lists.

And that's exactly what's in the NPRM. The proposed rule seeks to require,
among other things, flight crewmember criminal history records checks and
security threat assessments; watch list matching of passenger manifests;
and security training for all flight crew members. Operators would also be
required to have "Security Coordinators" on-staff.

Still another requirement would be for designated reliever airports --
airports that function to ease traffic at larger commercial facilities,
primarily by attracting corporate air traffic -- to comply with new
security requirements.

Further security measures for large aircraft operators in all-cargo
operations, and for operators of passenger aircraft with a MTOW of over
100,309.3 lbs (45,500 kg), operated for compensation or hire.

The NPRM carries a 60-day comment period.

Early reaction to the NPRM falls down predictable party lines... with NATA
President James Coyne largely applauding the proposed guidelines.

"We have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Large Aircraft Security
Program for some time," Coyne said. "We are currently reviewing the content
of this new, ground-breaking security measure, and we look forward to
continuing our work with DHS and TSA officials to ensure that the LASP's
makeup appropriately addresses legitimate security concerns while
recognizing the unique operating tendencies of the general aviation
industry."

Conversely, the 415,000-member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
expressed concern NPRM announced could have serious implications on general
aviation. "This proposed rule is an unprecedented imposition of security
requirements on the General Aviation community affecting 10,000 individual
operators and hundreds of airports," said Andy Cebula, AOPA Executive Vice
President of Government Affairs. "An overwhelming majority of our members
surveyed last week expressed strong concerns about the proposal."

AOPA notes its members questioned the limits on personnel freedom,
financial impacts and potential implications of the rule for the broader
general aviation community, seeing this as a start for the Federal
Government to regulate all non-commercial operations.

"Our members believe that this proposal presents a potential drain on our
Nation’s limited financial resources for aviation safety and security that
could be better spent improving other areas of our critical
infrastructure," Cebula added."

(See also, accompanying story: "NBAA, GAMA Weigh In On TSA Large Aircraft Security NPRM New TSA Proposal Must Balance Security With Mobility".)