Private Plane – Public Menace

Thanks to “Jetwhine“, also posting on Twitter, my attention got directed to this tiny Atlantic article who’s “pixel inkling  left wing writer”  Goldberg appears to have a major screw loose… (Yeah! I really just typed that…)

Quote (for educational purposes):

“So let’s just say that I’m a terrorist pilot,” I said, “and I have a bag filled with handguns and I shoot these two pilots and then I take control of the plane and steer it into the headquarters of the CIA,” near which we would soon be flying. “What’s stopping me?” “There’s nothing stopping you,” my friend said. “All you need is money to buy a plane, or a charter. Luckily for America, I am not a terrorist, I did not kill the pilots, and I did not steer the plane into the headquarters of the CIA. Nor did I pack my bag with Semtex or a dirty bomb. Instead, I occupied myself by taking free candy and bottles of Evian from the plane’s endless stock of free candy and Evian, which reminded me, as if I needed reminding, that it is better to be rich than poor.

And a few lines further down:

Another Quote ( also for educational purposes):

I had been under the impression that the TSA stationed personnel at many general-­aviation terminals……but it typically does not. The general-aviation industry is almost entirely “self-regulated.” The TSA has proposed that it be allowed to impose certain security measures on private jets, such as requiring operators to ensure that their passengers are not on the no-fly list, but for now the agency screens only those Americans who cannot afford to fly on private planes.

He goes on to ramble about how he would like to be rich and follow messages from al-Qaeda, or something. Articles like these should make the hair on the backs of every General Aviation pilot stand straight up, no matter which party they belong to… or size of aircraft they fly. Ed Bolen, President & CEO of NBAA has responded and I for one hope many other pilots will do the same… With stuff like that, we won’t need any enemies, public citizen groups or any further government intervention for much longer, our industry (along with GA) will be on it’s knees, gasping for air where there is none, in absolutely no time.

Private Plane, Public Menace
Wealthy travelers routinely bypass the TSA by flying on private jets. How long until al-Qaeda does the same?

With an enemy like that, who’d ever need any terrorists? Thank you Mr. Goldberg! Always good to know where exactly the enemy sits. Friendly fire has killed many! Your concerns are unfounded, dumbfounded and overly uneducated. Take both of your thumbs out of your mouth (or wherever you stick them for your guess works) and write about Hybrids or something else, to collect your brownie points with Nancy Pelosi. With articles like this, one may start to wonder if you have trouble with getting your junk touched at home. In simple words, if this guy gets another ride on a Business or General Aviation aircraft in the U.S., then we are seriously FUBAR! He should travel like the rest of the herd.