Peter R.
January 16th 04, 03:11 PM
from link:
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2004/04-1-034x_letter.html
---------------------- begin quote -----------------------------------
January 15, 2004
Andrew Heyward
President, CBS News
524 W 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Heyward:
On behalf of more than 400,000 members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association (AOPA), the world's largest aviation organization, I am writing
you to express our utter shock and dismay regarding the story about general
aviation that ran on your evening news on January 14, 2004. It is
disgraceful that "the news organization of Edward R. Murrow" would produce
? and aggressively promote in a tabloid headline form ? a segment on the
prestigious CBS Evening News that was so obviously slanted, incomplete,
factually erroneous and salaciously inflammatory.
Your irresponsible reporting techniques included:
Failure to mention a wide range of security initiatives ? developed by AOPA
and other organizations in concert with the FAA and Homeland Security ?
that are now in practice across the country. Completely contrary to your
report, much has changed since 9/11.
Failure to use a credible "expert" for your interview. Peter Goetz has no
credentials in GA security. He is currently a PR consultant with grief
counseling experience at NTSB. Other on-camera "experts" were a Realtor and
an airport manager for a highly unique airport.
The total absence of any evidence that general aviation should be
considered a security threat. To suggest otherwise is to be blind to an
enormous body of facts that could never produce the sensationalistic sham
that you deign to call a news story.
On the basis of the voluminous emails and calls we have received today I
can confirm that your reporter, Bob Orr, has badly tarnished his reputation
in the aviation community. Had he ? or anyone ? from CBS simply called we
could have provided the information that the story was completely lacking.
For example:
The Eagle's Nest residential airpark, while not unique, is far from typical
of most public-use airports. These exclusive communities are mostly
privately owned, private-use airports where the community is even more
closely knit than the general aviation community at large.
The lack of fencing at facilities like Eagle's Nest is more than offset by
the fact that the residents lock their planes next to their cars in
enclosed hangars that are attached to their homes.
The 5,400 public-use general aviation airports in this country have
security measures appropriate to their situation. Many are fenced with
controlled access; others rely less on physical security procedures than on
pilot vigilance, using guidelines such as AOPA's Airport Watch program. The
TSA has acknowledged that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to
security at general aviation airports and will be releasing a "best
practices" guide based on recommendations from the general aviation
industry that will help airports adopt appropriate security measures based
on their individual circumstances.
The typical general aviation aircraft, when fully loaded, weighs less than
an empty Honda Civic and carries about the same amount of fuel as a large
SUV. By comparison, an airliner like the ones used on September 11, 2001,
can weigh as much as 180 Civics and carry nearly 24 thousand gallons of
fuel. In stark contrast, a general aviation aircraft has limited ability to
cause damage as evidenced by the unfortunate incident in Tampa. It was an
extremely rare act by a lone individual that, while horrifying to imagine
much less see, caused relatively minor damage.
Since 9/11 we are all living in a world marked by a heightened state of
fear. Many organizations and members like ours have worked hard to address
opportunities to keep those events from being repeated. By planting deep
seeds of fear that are totally without merit, your report did a major
disservice not only to our members, but to the general public as well. We
are outraged and you should be ashamed.
At AOPA we will continue to work on behalf of our members. We hope at CBS
you will work half as hard to inform your viewers of the facts and leave
sensational journalism in the grocery store racks where it belongs. In the
interim, we stand ready to provide you with the facts that your report
completely ignored.
Sincerely,
Phil Boyer
President
-------------------- end quote ------------------------------
--
Peter
----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
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http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2004/04-1-034x_letter.html
---------------------- begin quote -----------------------------------
January 15, 2004
Andrew Heyward
President, CBS News
524 W 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Heyward:
On behalf of more than 400,000 members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association (AOPA), the world's largest aviation organization, I am writing
you to express our utter shock and dismay regarding the story about general
aviation that ran on your evening news on January 14, 2004. It is
disgraceful that "the news organization of Edward R. Murrow" would produce
? and aggressively promote in a tabloid headline form ? a segment on the
prestigious CBS Evening News that was so obviously slanted, incomplete,
factually erroneous and salaciously inflammatory.
Your irresponsible reporting techniques included:
Failure to mention a wide range of security initiatives ? developed by AOPA
and other organizations in concert with the FAA and Homeland Security ?
that are now in practice across the country. Completely contrary to your
report, much has changed since 9/11.
Failure to use a credible "expert" for your interview. Peter Goetz has no
credentials in GA security. He is currently a PR consultant with grief
counseling experience at NTSB. Other on-camera "experts" were a Realtor and
an airport manager for a highly unique airport.
The total absence of any evidence that general aviation should be
considered a security threat. To suggest otherwise is to be blind to an
enormous body of facts that could never produce the sensationalistic sham
that you deign to call a news story.
On the basis of the voluminous emails and calls we have received today I
can confirm that your reporter, Bob Orr, has badly tarnished his reputation
in the aviation community. Had he ? or anyone ? from CBS simply called we
could have provided the information that the story was completely lacking.
For example:
The Eagle's Nest residential airpark, while not unique, is far from typical
of most public-use airports. These exclusive communities are mostly
privately owned, private-use airports where the community is even more
closely knit than the general aviation community at large.
The lack of fencing at facilities like Eagle's Nest is more than offset by
the fact that the residents lock their planes next to their cars in
enclosed hangars that are attached to their homes.
The 5,400 public-use general aviation airports in this country have
security measures appropriate to their situation. Many are fenced with
controlled access; others rely less on physical security procedures than on
pilot vigilance, using guidelines such as AOPA's Airport Watch program. The
TSA has acknowledged that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to
security at general aviation airports and will be releasing a "best
practices" guide based on recommendations from the general aviation
industry that will help airports adopt appropriate security measures based
on their individual circumstances.
The typical general aviation aircraft, when fully loaded, weighs less than
an empty Honda Civic and carries about the same amount of fuel as a large
SUV. By comparison, an airliner like the ones used on September 11, 2001,
can weigh as much as 180 Civics and carry nearly 24 thousand gallons of
fuel. In stark contrast, a general aviation aircraft has limited ability to
cause damage as evidenced by the unfortunate incident in Tampa. It was an
extremely rare act by a lone individual that, while horrifying to imagine
much less see, caused relatively minor damage.
Since 9/11 we are all living in a world marked by a heightened state of
fear. Many organizations and members like ours have worked hard to address
opportunities to keep those events from being repeated. By planting deep
seeds of fear that are totally without merit, your report did a major
disservice not only to our members, but to the general public as well. We
are outraged and you should be ashamed.
At AOPA we will continue to work on behalf of our members. We hope at CBS
you will work half as hard to inform your viewers of the facts and leave
sensational journalism in the grocery store racks where it belongs. In the
interim, we stand ready to provide you with the facts that your report
completely ignored.
Sincerely,
Phil Boyer
President
-------------------- end quote ------------------------------
--
Peter
----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =---