Excellent examples of "objective reporting" are written on the AOPA's
presidents page. Especially when he writes about "taking on" a US
Attorney from Minnesota, who was able to ride his bike, undeterred, onto a
GA airfield. Of course Boyer, with his acute analytic ability, stated that
this "proved" the voluntary security system was working, because everyone
knew the intruder was not a threat! Awesome. The TV executive speaks!

How about this tid-bid, written today by a "conservative issue advocacy
group"? Is this objective?

US Reports Over 3,000 Restricted Airspace Violations

by Jim Kouri, CPP



The Federal Aviation Administration reported about 3,400 violations of
restricted airspace from September 12, 2001, to December 31, 2004, most of
which were committed by general aviation pilots.

Violations can occur because pilots may divert from their flight plan to
avoid bad weather, the Administration may establish newly restricted
airspace with little warning, and pilots in the air may be unaware of the
new restrictions, or pilots do not check for notices of restrictions, as
required. Also, terrorists may deliberately enter restricted airspace to
test the government's response or carry out an attack.

One government official claims this is a serious problem considering the
timeline between an intentional violation and an actual terrorist attack
using an aircraft in a Kamikaze-type attack.

"The problem of airspace violations is one needing constant attention by
several agencies including the military," he said.

Federal agencies have acted individually or have coordinated to enhance
aviation security. For example, the Transportation Security Administration
established a national operations center that disseminates operational- and
intelligence-related information, and has enhanced passenger and checked
baggage screening, secured cockpit doors, and assessed the risk to some,
but not all, commercial airports.

Also, few general aviation airport owners have conducted risk assessments.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command's mission was expanded to
include monitoring domestic air traffic and conducting air patrols.
Collectively, the agencies are operating the National Capital Region
Coordination Center to secure the National Capital Region.

The General Accounting Office identified gaps in the simultaneous,
time-critical, multi-agency response to airspace violations. While it may
not be possible to prevent all violations or deter all attacks, GAO
identified some gaps in policies and procedures. Specifically, the
agencies were operating without an organization in the lead. They also
lacked: fully developed interagency policies and procedures for the
airspace violations response teleconferencing system; information sharing
protocols and procedures; or accepted definitions of a violation. As a
result, opportunities may be missed to enhance the security of US
aviation, according to the GAO study.



Sources: General Accounting Office, Transportation Security
Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, National Security
Institute

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National
Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City
housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters
covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of
public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for
several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task
Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.
He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police,
Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and
others, and he's a columnist for TheConservativeVoice.Com. He's appeared
as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows
including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc.
His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com,
Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a
bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public
administration and he's a board certified protection professional.


The opinions expressed in this column represent those of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, or philosophy of
TheRealityCheck.org, Inc.