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Most excellent Tommy! Now put on your asbestos shorts 'cause I expect that Mr. Meeks is going to flame you. But just maybe he'll read it and appriciate spirit in which it was intended and be able to report without the negative slant next time.....yeah right, Greg B. just how close are those shrimp to learning to whistle? --Mitch ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 9:48 PM Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Big Holes ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Mr. Meeks, I do not intend to blast you or exchange vulgar or abusive e-mails with you. I do intend to share with you some facts and some opinions. FACTS: While your article is without a doubt slanted in order to influence portions of the population who do not know the practicality or lack there of, of using small aircraft for terroristic purposes; there are no false statements in the article. "Pilots and passengers are not screened" This is true. There isn't a need for screening in general aviation aircraft. Pilots and passengers are most commonly family, friends, work aquaintances, or employers. The 4% of general aviation aircraft that are over 12,500 for the most part, are owned by corporations or fractional owners. A small number are owned individually. The pilots employeed by corporations know their employers and the pilots flying fractionally owned aircraft do ask for identification before letting unknown personnel onboard, but again these pilots know most of the passengers. "The warning noted that the impact from such an explosion would be akin to 'a medium sized truck bomb.'" The larger general aviation aircraft could be capable of carrying enough explosives to do just that. However, approximately 80% could carry 300 pounds or less. "Lax security measures" This may have been the practice somewhere in the past but it is no longer true. Anyone with an aircraft for rent requires several things to be presented and kept on file: 1. Personal identification, 2. Pilots certificate, 3. Current Medical Certificate, 4. Proof of competency in the aircraft. The proof of competency is a 'check-ride' with someone representing the aircraft owner or lessee. "70 general avaition aircraft have been stolen in the last five years" Apparently we keep our small planes a lot more securely than does the general public keep their cars, vans, trucks, and semi-rigs. However, it is a fact that aircraft can be stolen. "when a teenage flight student stole....." Yes, once again a fact without details. The flight student was told by his instructor to pre-flight the airplane. The student then took the aircraft. Perhaps, if it had been an automobile it would have been listed as, "unathorized use." "Airport Watch" This is not a new concept, although it is a new program. Small airports are small towns. In a small town everyone knows pretty much everyone else; its the same at an airport. Unlike a town though, when a new face appears it is questioned. "punctured the bubble" Yes, navigational errors do happen but not just to small aircraft. Airline and Military pilots make mistakes too. The TFR around Washington DC has been breeched on more than one occassion and you are correct, it is not a "non-event" However, remember the Cessna that was crashed into the White House during the Clinton administration? It literally bounced off the wall. General Aviation has done far more good than most people know. How many of your readers do you think know about Mercy Flights, Angel Flights, or Civil Air Patrol. Mercy Flight and Angel Flight both provide transportation, without cost, to seriously ill people. Many people with serious diseases and injuries live hundreds of miles from treatment centers and are regularly transported by general aviation aircraft, for free. What was the single largest reason the German Navy stopped torpedoing ships close to the United States shore? A German admiral after the war cited, "Thosed damned little yellow planes." Thise yellow planes were Civil Air Patrol members flying their own planes at their own expense to patrol the coasts. Opinion We all live in a different world than we did on September 10, 2001 and there is nothing the enemies of the United States like better, short of the fall of our government, than seeing our populace rattled by one threat(real, percieved, or fictional)after another. This actually plays into their hand by de-sensitizing the population to alarms and disrupting the American way of life. We all need to be aware of what is going on around us, both individually and as a community, and we need to call attention to those things that don't look right. Mr. Meeks, it is my opinion that you should re-research your story and then print the whole story. General aviation is a part of the American way of life and a part of the economy, it deserves a fair deal. Tommy Terry Pilot and Aircraft Owner N93929 ========================================================================== == == To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/ ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
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