Gunship
11th Oct 2002, 07:40
The Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3547-2002Oct9.html )
washingtonpost.com
Private Pilots Enlisted for Security
TSA Seeks Reports of Suspicious Activity
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 10, 2002; Page A14
The Transportation Security Administration said yesterday that it is developing a program to encourage pilots who fly small private planes to report suspicious activity at airports.
Organizers of the program, called "Airport Watch," likened it to a neighborhood watch program. Pilots will be encouraged to take note of suspicious people hanging around privately owned aircraft and report them to the TSA using a toll-free number that will be set up in December.
The government and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a group of 385,000 pilots of small planes, developed the program because of intelligence reports that terrorists might use small aircraft in an attack.
Airport Watch is the latest effort by the government to encourage the public to be vigilant and report suspicious behavior. Earlier, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft urged neighborhood watch programs to report possible terrorist activities.
The Justice Department also began a program, called Operation TIPS, that encouraged mail carriers, utility employees and truckers to tell authorities about suspicious activities. The program was scaled back in August after some members of Congress and the American Civil Liberties Union likened it to a national spy program.
Rachel King, ACLU's legislative counsel, said in a prepared statement that Airport Watch "at first glance . . . does not appear to pose the same threat to basic freedom as Operation TIPS."
Warren Morningstar, spokesman for the pilots group, said pilots have not been sure whether to call local police, the FBI or the TSA to report suspicious activity.
The pilots association is producing a video and brochures to tell pilots what to look for -- for instance, people who seem to be loading unusual items on a small plane, making unusual modifications to aircraft or "who don't seem to fit in."
"We're . . . the folks who are the eyes and ears. We know the neighborhood, we know the streets," Morningstar said. "That's why neighborhood watch is so effective. That's why we think Airport Watch will be effective."
washingtonpost.com
Private Pilots Enlisted for Security
TSA Seeks Reports of Suspicious Activity
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 10, 2002; Page A14
The Transportation Security Administration said yesterday that it is developing a program to encourage pilots who fly small private planes to report suspicious activity at airports.
Organizers of the program, called "Airport Watch," likened it to a neighborhood watch program. Pilots will be encouraged to take note of suspicious people hanging around privately owned aircraft and report them to the TSA using a toll-free number that will be set up in December.
The government and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a group of 385,000 pilots of small planes, developed the program because of intelligence reports that terrorists might use small aircraft in an attack.
Airport Watch is the latest effort by the government to encourage the public to be vigilant and report suspicious behavior. Earlier, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft urged neighborhood watch programs to report possible terrorist activities.
The Justice Department also began a program, called Operation TIPS, that encouraged mail carriers, utility employees and truckers to tell authorities about suspicious activities. The program was scaled back in August after some members of Congress and the American Civil Liberties Union likened it to a national spy program.
Rachel King, ACLU's legislative counsel, said in a prepared statement that Airport Watch "at first glance . . . does not appear to pose the same threat to basic freedom as Operation TIPS."
Warren Morningstar, spokesman for the pilots group, said pilots have not been sure whether to call local police, the FBI or the TSA to report suspicious activity.
The pilots association is producing a video and brochures to tell pilots what to look for -- for instance, people who seem to be loading unusual items on a small plane, making unusual modifications to aircraft or "who don't seem to fit in."
"We're . . . the folks who are the eyes and ears. We know the neighborhood, we know the streets," Morningstar said. "That's why neighborhood watch is so effective. That's why we think Airport Watch will be effective."