Posted on 01/23/2004 5:33:15 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
Andrew Heyward President, CBS News 524 W 57th St. New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Heyward: On behalf of more than 400,000 members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association AOPA), the world's largest aviation organization, I am writing you to express our utter shock and dismay regarding the story about general aviation that ran on your evening news on January 14, 2004. It is disgraceful that "the news organization of Edward R. Murrow" would produce — and aggressively promote in a tabloid headline form — a segment on the prestigious CBS Evening News that was so obviously slanted, incomplete, factually erroneous and salaciously inflammatory.
Your irresponsible reporting techniques included: Failure to mention a wide range of security initiatives — developed by AOPA and other organizations in concert with the FAA and Homeland Security — that are now in practice across the country. Completely contrary to your report, much has changed since 9/11. Failure to use a credible "expert" for your interview. Peter Goetz has no credentials in GA security. He is currently a PR consultant with grief counseling experience at NTSB. Other on-camera "experts" were a Realtor and an airport manager for a highly unique airport. The total absence of any evidence that general aviation should be considered a security threat. To suggest otherwise is to be blind to an enormous body of facts that could never produce the sensationalistic sham that you deign to call a news story.
On the basis of the voluminous emails and calls we have received today I can confirm that your reporter, Bob Orr, has badly tarnished his reputation in the aviation community. Had he — or anyone — from CBS simply called we could have provided the information that the story was completely lacking. For example: The Eagle's Nest residential airpark, while not unique, is far from typical of most public-use airports. These exclusive communities are mostly privately owned, private-use airports where the community is even more closely knit than the general aviation community at large. The lack of fencing at facilities like Eagle's Nest is more than offset by the fact that the residents lock their planes next to their cars in enclosed hangars that are attached to their homes. The 5,400 public-use general aviation airports in this country have security measures appropriate to their situation. Many are fenced with controlled access; others rely less on physical security procedures than on pilot vigilance, using guidelines such as AOPA's Airport Watch program. The TSA has acknowledged that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to security at general aviation airports and will be releasing a "best practices" guide based on recommendations from the general aviation industry that will help airports adopt appropriate security measures based on their individual circumstances. The typical general aviation aircraft, when fully loaded, weighs less than an empty Honda Civic and carries about the same amount of fuel as a large SUV. By comparison, an airliner like the ones used on September 11, 2001, can weigh as much as 180 Civics and carry nearly 24 thousand gallons of fuel. In stark contrast, a general aviation aircraft has limited ability to cause damage as evidenced by the unfortunate incident in Tampa. It was an extremely rare act by a lone individual that, while horrifying to imagine much less see, caused relatively minor damage.
Since 9/11 we are all living in a world marked by a heightened state of fear. Many organizations and members like ours have worked hard to address opportunities to keep those events from being repeated. By planting deep seeds of fear that are totally without merit, your report did a major disservice not only to our members, but to the general public as well. We are outraged and you should be ashamed.
At AOPA we will continue to work on behalf of our members. We hope at CBS you will work half as hard to inform your viewers of the facts and leave sensational journalism in the grocery store racks where it belongs. In the interim, we stand ready to provide you with the facts that your report completely ignored.
Sincerely,
Phil Boyer President
USPA NEWS RELEASE
January 19, 2004
Pilots outraged, “little” airplanes under attack
Pilots nationwide are more than alarmed by CBS Evening News “Eye on America” Correspondent Bob Orr’s report last week, which described residential airpark communities and General Aviation airports as “an open invitation for terrorists.” In fact, according to Jan Hoynacki, executive director of the United States Pilots Association (USPA), aviation enthusiasts across America are themselves feeling terrorized by fear-driven security woes.
“We feel like General Aviation is under attack by a movement in this country to eliminate ‘little’ airplanes,” Hoynacki alleged. And in context of the barrage of regulatory restrictions, codicils and conventions which have been imposed upon and proposed for General Aviation since 9-11, coupled with what aviation advocates consider to be spurious fear-mongering hype by ratings-driven media, the facts supporting Hoynacki’s position certainly seem to add up.
Consider, for example, newly proposed changes to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations Part 91 which will, if adopted, so inhibit charity and sightseeing flights that, by the FAA’s own estimates, promulgation of the new protocols will put roughly 700 aviators out of work.
“I could understand better a regulatory change if it was due to a safety or accident prevention factor to those type of operations,” said Jim Collom, a commercial-rated pilot, airpark developer and president of USPA Chapter AR01. “Yet it appears that too often, and more so since 9-11, logical thinking has not been at work in the decision making process.”
Adding formidably to the indignation, according to the 400,000-member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the FAA flat-out refuses to talk face-to-face with the pilots they are about to put out of business, preferring to conduct “virtual” meetings instead.
Another example of what pilots like Hoynacki and Collom see as condescending and abusive treatment of aviators, is an airspace takeover being forwarded by the United States Air Force. Given implementation, a new MOA (Military Operations Area) restriction would effectively block all non-military flight from Albuquerque through Roswell, down to Artesia and Carlsbad in New Mexico, creating 3,200 square miles of no-fly zone.
“USPA will speak against this egregious grab of more airspace at hearings being held later this month,” said USPA Vice President Steve Uslan, noting that the formal protest will be joined by the New Mexico Pilots Association and others.
“This is not a matter of patriotism,” said Hoynacki, “but rather a matter of proper access to the nation’s airspace, and specifically how this MOA will hamper General Aviation routes across the state.”
Supporting these assertions, the AOPA and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), two of the largest member-based aviation organizations in the world, have adopted powerfully defensive positions.
Doug Mcnair, Vice President of Government Relations with EAA, publicly commented that “everyday, somewhere in the world, trucks and automobiles are used as a terrorist weapon, while general aviation aircraft have never to date been used in such a manner. Despite this, no one would contemplate draconian federal security standards on personal automobiles.”
Adding insult to injury, last week’s CBS report on airpark security, which alleged a dangerous lack thereof, has incensed aviators nationwide with repercussions reverberating on the EAA and AOPA websites, claiming that the CBS article was at best an irresponsible and sensationalistic piece which did nothing to inform viewers or resolve legitimate issues, and at worst was a slanted, incomplete, factually erroneous, and salaciously inflammatory attack.
“I was appalled by Bob Orr’s one-size-fits-all story about General Aviation Airport Security,” said Collom, whose 500-acre Holley Mountain Airpark in North Central Arkansas, though not required to, has taken substantial measures to ensure that precautions taken by the residential aviation community are what they deserve to be. “But still, the best security is what we call ‘our families caring for each other.’ Everyone knows everyone. We know when others are home, where they travel, and when they return. We know when our neighbors are ill, when they’re celebrating a birthday and if someone is in need of help. We are a family. And we understand the need for security in these times with all aspects of transportation, not just aviation, but Mr. Orr’s report might have been more accurate if he would have read it out of a crackerjack box.”
“I’m thoroughly ticked,” said Hoynacki. “CBS was wrong and misleading to the general public. There are many complex issues affecting the status of General Aviation in the United States today, and the need for a firm hand in constructive development is a given. But if the media or anyone else wants to know what’s going on in aviation, they should talk to pilots, airpark residents and aviation professionals, not real estate agents and hired help.”
For more information about this and other issues related to General Aviation, visit www.holleymountainairpark.com, www.uspilots.org, www.aopa.org, www.eaa.org
Jan Hoynacki, Executive Director United States Pilots Association 1652 Indian Point Road Branson, MO 65616 417 338-2225 Fax 417 338-8626 jan@hoynacki.com www.uspilots.org
Thanks for this heads-up... as I havn't watched C-BS for years now.
First I have heard about this.
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