Originally Posted by
thunderbird five
Q1. Anyone here with no ASIC ever landed somewhere where one was required? eg, just a quick pitstop or fuel stop, or more. What happened? Did you get bailed up by anyone, and what happened? I've not yet exactly found the info as to precisely who has any power to bail anybody up, and then do what to them? - it all seems very vague.
Q2. Who is genuinely afraid of landing at a secure regional airport with no ASIC? I'm not close enough to any to try it out.
The trouble with those kinds of questions, T5, is that people who are no risk to security will have to pay the cost of the implications of the answers.
Imagine a hypothetical capital city. Let's call it Arrebnac. The airport at this hypothetical city is security controlled and surrounded by Class C airspace. This gives the pollies and punters who fly in and out of Arrebnac the warm inner glow of security.
Let's also assume there's a hypothetical country town with an airfield near Arrebnac. Let's call that airfield Nrubluog. Nrubluog is neither security controlled nor surrounded by Class C airspace. There are lots and places like Nrubluog in this hypothetical country.
Imagine if anyone could put in a flight plan to fly from Nrubloug to Arrebnac, and that air traffic control would give the aircraft an airways clearance and a clearance to land at Arrebnac, without air traffic control or security personnel at Arrebnac knowing whether the pilot has an ASIC or even a pilot's licence!
Imagine if that pilot could fly that aircraft, full of fuel, right over top of a hypothetical gathering of elected representatives called Tnemailrap House!
Imagine if that pilot could land at Arrenbac without anyone meeting the aircraft on arrival to check that the pilot has an ASIC!
Now I realise that these are completely fantastical hypothetical circumstances that would never happen. And no terrorist would risk being prosecuted for flying into a security controlled airport without a pilot's licence and ASIC - the fines would add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
But can you
imagine what the knee jerk response would be
if it were true and pollies put pressure on OTS to do something about it? More cost and more inconvenience to people who are no risk to security, with no actual increase in security.