Home >destination tips travel > Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 - The Associated Press
Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 - The Associated Press
Posted on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 by destination tips travel
Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11
By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press – 7 hours ago
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, government screening has made it harder for foreign students to enroll in civilian flight schools like a handful of the hijackers had done, banking on America being inviting and a place to learn quickly.
But the most rigorous checks don't apply to all students and instructors, so schools and trainers have to be especially alert to weed out would-be terrorists.
"Prior to 9/11, I wouldn't have had the phone number and name of my local FBI agent posted on my wall. I do," said Patrick Murphy, director of training at Sunrise Aviation in Ormond Beach, Fla., near Daytona Beach.
Hundreds of U.S. flight schools fiercely compete for students. In Florida, some still pitch the good weather as a way for students to fly more often and finish programs faster. The 9/11 hijackers sought out U.S. schools partly because they were seen as requiring shorter training periods.
Florida schools have reason to be careful: Three of the 9/11 hijackers were simulating flights in large jets within six months of arriving for training in Venice, Fla., along the Gulf Coast. Mohamed Atta, the operational leader of the hijackings, and Marwan al Shehhi enrolled in an accelerated pilot program at Huffman Aviation, while Ziad Jarrah entered a private pilot program nearby.
The terrorists obtained licenses and certifications despite rowdy behavior and poor performance at times.
The U.S. commission that investigated the attacks said in its report that Atta and Shehhi quickly took solo flights and passed a private pilot airman test. The two later enrolled at another school, where an instructor said the two were rude and aggressive, and sometimes even fought to take over the controls during training flights. They failed an instruments rating exam. Undeterred, they returned to Huffman. Meanwhile, Jarrah received a single-engine private pilot certificate.
Hani Hanjour obtained his private pilot license after about three months of training in Arizona. Several more months of training yielded a commercial pilot certificate, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. In early 2001, he started training on a Boeing 737 simulator. An instructor found his work substandard and advised him to quit, but he continued and finished the training just 5½ months before the attacks, the commission said.
Today, it would be tougher for the four men to enter U.S. flight schools.
There is a stricter visa process for foreign students seeking flight training in the U.S. They cannot start until the Transportation Security Administration, created after Sept. 11 to protect U.S. air travel, runs a fingerprint-based criminal background check with the FBI's help and runs their names against terrorist watch lists. TSA inspectors visit FAA-certified flight schools at least once a year to make sure students have proper documentation verifying their identities and haven't overstayed their visas.
Plus, TSA shares intelligence with other agencies and has other layers of security to catch people before they can do harm even if they slipped through the cracks and were able to get flight training in the U.S.
The stepped-up measures involving flight schools are not foolproof or uniform, however.
There are numerous flight instructors with access to planes and simulators who don't all get an annual TSA visit, and are subject only to random TSA inspections if they train only U.S. citizens. The TSA has access to a database of all student pilots that is maintained by the FAA. But TSA said it only runs the names of U.S.-citizen students against watch lists, and not necessarily before those students can start their programs.
TSA said the fingerprinting and criminal background checks done on foreign students before they can enter U.S. flight schools are not done on U.S. citizens. TransPac Aviation Academy in Phoenix tells domestic applicants they need proof of citizenship, a high school diploma or college transcripts, a medical card, a driver's license and any pilot licenses already held. Other schools do the same, said Tom Lippincott, TransPac's vice president of business development.
And one security measure never employed by the government, despite interest from the 9/11 commission, was requiring that transponders that help officials locate commercial planes can't be turned off as the hijackers did. The FAA said if there is an electrical fire or malfunction, pilots must be able to turn off the transponder for safety reasons.
The shortcomings have led schools to self-police.
Andre Maye, vice president of administration at Phoenix East Aviation in Daytona Beach, pays attention to red flags including inconsistencies in addresses applicants provide and discrepancies on financial statements. He monitors the size of wire transfers from students when they pay for their tuition, which can total $46,000 or more, and looks for consistency in the transactions.
James Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association, a trade group for aviation service businesses including flight training companies, said the industry is open to more rigorous and uniform vetting of students.
The safeguards in place haven't deterred foreign students from flocking to the U.S. — Sunrise Aviation's Murphy said the majority of students are international at many flight schools, including his.
They come because the training industry is more developed and efficient than programs at home. Also, pilot hiring in the U.S. is stagnant, while growth in Asia has fueled a need for pilots there. Students often come to the U.S. with their own money or financing.
Akshai Stephen, 27, of New Delhi, has been at Sunrise about five months. He said the month it took him to go through the approval process and start training didn't discourage him.
"What I thought was, just tell the truth, 'I want to fly. I want to fly,'" he said. "If you are truthful and have good intentions, you have nothing to worry about."
Of the 41 recommendations in the 9/11 commission's report, none specifically addressed flight schools. Thomas Kean, the former New Jersey governor who chaired the commission, told The Associated Press the feeling at the time was that the federal government already was working to close that loophole.
Huffman Aviation, where Atta and Shehhi trained, closed after the attacks. Owner Rudi Dekkers said in a recent interview that considering what he knew 10 years ago, there is nothing he could have seen that would have alerted him to what his students were planning.
And despite the enhanced government screening today, he isn't convinced the same thing couldn't happen at another school.
"You have someone who doesn't behave, you think that makes them a terrorist?" Dekkers asked. "Then half the country is a terrorist."
Follow Harry R. Weber at http://www.facebook.com/HarryRWeberAP
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
30 Aug, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGUrXlAw2utd-EIhpiN3U2OV0eJag&url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gK9XXqVlcsFxNg1eX_jJ_Y7Ubyjw?docId=3c1dea6cc9184ab791f16efa3632edbc
~
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com
Archive
-
▼
2011
(3387)
-
▼
August
(516)
- Beach Boys announce release details of lost album ...
- First PacTrust Bancorp To Buy Beach Business Bank ...
- Retired surgeon becomes oldest person to swim the ...
- Arctic Adventures in Lapland with the Travel Exper...
- Irene's Aftermath Makes Labor Day Travel Forecast ...
- Rezidor Announces the Park Inn Trysil Mountain Res...
- SolVista at Granby Ranch hosts Mountain States Cup...
- AVIX Technologies, Inc. Announces ACTUS Deploys Ki...
- Newly replenished Duval beaches withstand Hurrican...
- Spanish Mountain Announces Commencement of Pre-Fea...
- CareerBliss Unveils the Happiest Hotels to Work - ...
- Falcons travel to Idaho for first game of season -...
- Recorder spent more on travel than elected colleag...
- Have Apps, Will Travel - Part 2 - TechNewsWorld
- Labor Day weekend could see fewer travelers, surve...
- Smokies get bump in visitors from Hurricane Irene ...
- Five Mile Said to Buy $700 Million in Red Roof Deb...
- Wednesday Beach Report: Another Perfect Day - Patc...
- Tom Zirpoli: Exciting rendezvous with Irene - Carr...
- Tourism dilemma: Irene's gone but summer's not - B...
- American extends deal with reservations operator -...
- Choice Hotels Breaks Ground on New Headquarters - ...
- Rocky Mountain lineman Jared Collins turning heads...
- Starbucks, Green Mountain Investors Should Switch ...
- Hotel concerns for culture year - BBC News
- Palm Beach County couples stuck at Vermont resort ...
- Hotel Occupancy In Sharm El-Sheikh Is Rising
- The Island of Santorini Is a Jewel in the Aegean Sea
- Four Tips to Finding Cheap Hotels Worldwide
- Kodaikanal Hotels - Some Interesting Choices
- Coorg Hotels - Some Interesting Choices
- Why Choice Hotels Are So Popular
- Muslims mark Ramadan's end at Midland Beach - SILi...
- Find other use for hotel site - Delmarva Daily Times
- Showers and storms due in Palm Beach County, Treas...
- Holiday could see fewer travelers, survey says - G...
- Police Nab Seal Beach Man in Alleged Foreclosure S...
- Rockaways in cleanup mode after Hurricane Irene - ...
- Czech Muslims celebrate end of Ramadan in hotel - ...
- Marriott Gets the Boot From Hawaii Hotel - Meeting...
- Trapped on a mountain 'island' by Irene - Reuters
- NJ officials checking water quality at beaches, sh...
- Labor Day travel plans shrink - Marietta Times
- Credit Card Deals Report - CreditDonkey Highlights...
- Intercepted calls show Pak handlers-Taliban nexus ...
- 31 August 2011: Hurricane Irene Travel Disruption ...
- dealchecker.co.uk: Demand Fuels Proposals for New ...
- Teen pregnancy rates challenge Palm Beach County a...
- Travel expected to dip slightly - The News Journal
- Waikiki Aqua hotel war with Marriott Hawaii has Ma...
- 1-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: Green Mountain? - ...
- Lanyon Brings Small Meeting Integration to 2012 Tr...
- Hotel owner seeking information about winning conv...
- Singles file: Wavves, Neutral Milk Hotel, Ryan Ada...
- Four new players win Manhattan Beach Open - Easy R...
- Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 ...
- Quiksilver Pro New York: World's Best Surfers To H...
- Dania Beach Eatery Goes Up in Flames - NBC Miami
- Glasses Malone Beach Cruiser - HipHopDX
- Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 ...
- Man Killed by Grizzly in Yellowstone Visiting 'Pla...
- Tuesday Beach Report: Waves Hang On, OCBP Is Back ...
- Low-fuel landing in China signals air-travel growi...
- Starbucks Coffee to Be Offered in K-Cups in Novemb...
- Green Mountain selling Van Houtte USA for $145M - ...
- Flames engulf Dania Beach restaurant, parts of Gri...
- True Blood: Have Rocket Launcher, Will Travel - Pa...
- Christie: Please Get the Hell Back on the Beach - ...
- Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd.: New 5 km Long Gol...
- Bear Caused Hiker's Death At Yellowstone - FoxReno...
- Starbucks Coffee To Be Offered In K-Cups In Novemb...
- Tourism dilemma: Irene's gone but summer's not - W...
- More cheers, fireworks as Ocean View team returns ...
- Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 ...
- travelmatch Infographic Explores the Wacky World o...
- AAA sees fewer Labor Day travelers - Bizjournals.c...
- Who's In and Who's Out: TripIt Launches Company Ca...
- 5 Things Pilots Know About Air Travel That You Don...
- Fairfield Brushes Up after Irene Drops In - Patch.com
- Rescheduling travel after Hurricane Irene - Washin...
- Former youth pastor arrested for theft - Baxter Bu...
- GMP: Water stabilized at Marshfield Dam - WCAX
- Mountain Home golfers split with Harrison - Baxter...
- Irene damages some beaches, spares others along co...
- Hong Kong judge grants Birmingham City owner permi...
- Tommy Middaugh & Travel To Go Scam Watch Announce ...
- Summer sizzles for Nashville-area hotel bookings, ...
- Flying under radar harder post-9/11 for foreign st...
- How Much for a Room at Earth's First Space Hotel? ...
- Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 ...
- Hurricane Irene 2011: Men arrested for looting in ...
- Birmingham boss free to travel - Soccerway
- Robert Booker: On cross-dressing, rail travel, fun...
- Virginia Launches New Fall Travel Planning Web Sit...
- LePage, other officials survey damage from storm -...
- 'Smart Collar' in the Works to Manage Wildlife Bet...
- Holes remain in flight school scrutiny after 9/11 ...
- Amodei: No reason to close Yucca Mountain entirely...
- Victim in hotel shooting identified. - Denver Post
- HK's Yeung gets travel permission - BBC News
-
▼
August
(516)