FW: Article "DHS Wants GA Aircraft Screened Before Flights To U.S."

Just got this today in e-mail, forwarded from an Aviation Daily piece.
I imagine this should **** of a few people.


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DHS Wants GA Aircraft Screened Before Flights To U.S.

The Dept. of Homeland Security plans to extend the security
requirements now applicable to Part 135 charter operators to a wider
range of general aviation operators and also wants GA aircraft and
passengers flying into the U.S. to undergo security screening before
takeoff, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said Monday.

Appearing at an Aviation Business Roundtable sponsored by the National
Air Transportation Association, Chertoff told the gathering of about
60 executives from charter, FBO and fuel companies that charter and
private aircraft flights are becoming cheaper and available to more
people. To ensure that these airplanes do not become weapons for
terrorists, Chertoff said DHS believes it is necessary to add multiple
layers of security to GA operations similar to those imposed on
scheduled airlines.

The additional security requirements being considered are designed to
help prevent the possible use of GA aircraft to carry terrorists or
other criminals into the U.S.; to transport dangerous goods or weapons
into this country; or as weapons themselves in the way that the Sept.
11 hijackers used airliners to strike targets in New York and
Washington.

Chertoff said there needs to be an "appropriate level of vetting" of
crewmembers, passengers and the material on board general aviation
aircraft flying into the U.S. from abroad. U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) previously issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to
require electronic transmission by GA operators of flight and manifest
information at least one hour prior to taking off for a flight into or
out of the U.S. under the Advance Passenger Information System
(eAPIS). The eAPIS system is currently used by scheduled airlines and
charter operators.

The Transportation Security Administration also wants to establish a
"Large Aircraft Security Program" for GA operators, including
corporate and private operations, "to make them consistent with
existing security programs for commercial aircraft of similar size,"
according to a statement issued Monday. Chertoff said DHS also wants
aircraft and their occupants to be physically inspected overseas
before embarking on flights to the U.S. Chertoff added that DHS has
already embarked on a partnership with fixed-base operator Signature
Flight Support on a pilot program from several locations that will
"serve as a last point of departure into the United States." DHS
wants to have that program operating from Signature FBOs in Shannon,
Ireland and Anchorage, Alaska by the end of the year, the department
said.