Citing industry objections, the Transportation Security Administration is preparing to scale back a controversial plan to expand aviation security rules for the first time to GA.
According to a Washington Post report, TSA officials expect to issue a revised plan this fall that will significantly reduce from 15,000 the number of U.S.-registered general-aviation aircraft subjected to tougher rules. Also, instead of mandating that all passengers aboard private planes be checked against terrorist watch lists, name checks in many cases could be left to the discretion of pilots, they said. The story notes:
“The shifts would mark significant rollbacks of security changes that supporters called overdue and essential to preventing terrorists from using small planes to smuggle dangerous weapons or carry out suicide attacks. Opponents, however, called the measures unwarranted, poorly thought out and overly burdensome on aircraft owners and manufacturers.”
