GA under attack by CBS everyone HELP!

[310]

ON 14 Jan - CBS evening news, one of the stories will be "can you believe that in this post 9-11 world, at thousands of airports many pilots go straight to their airplanes with no security check!"
Everyone needs to get involved and contact their local CBS station and complain. What about cars and SUVs driving without security- they can carry larger bombs-- if the CBS station has a helicopter, point out they enjoy this freedom.
Can this be emailed to every flightinfo member by someone?

 

[Stifler's Mom]

GA under attack by CBS everyone HELP!

Where do I sign up? I live in Atlanta, and I'll be d a m n e d if I let those Yankees from CBS attack Georgia.

 

[ShawnC]

Link of who to e-mail needed.

Ie. who's the writer? Host etc?

 

[avbug]

Look out, chicken little. The sky is falling. Under attack. First it's the suggestion that more could be done for security, but you watch. that's just a guise, the first step. Tomorrow executives from CBS will be descending on you through your bathroom window with AK47's blazing away. It's a good thing you pointed out this extreme, devestating attack. I for one might have slept through it. Believe me. I'm grateful. You saved us. We could have been attacked and not even known it. But this...we've been warned. Such a gift. And I was here!

Get real.

Personally, I agree with CBS.

 

[labbats]

I don't agree with sensationalizing a story to get ratings. Must be slow news times for them to pull out this muck.

 

[MaxT]

If it's a story on the CBS news with Dan Rather, than there's probably an opportunity for people to call their local stations tomorrow and suggest they send a local news reporter out to your local airport to show people how small these planes are, and how little they carry. All you have to do is remind them of the 152 in Tampa that did no damage other then break a window and move a desk.

We had a local guy who writes for a local paper and is a TV commentator talk about how terrible it would be if a little plane the golden gate bridge. I sent him several emails pointing out that the a small plane has about the same kinetic energy as a car and that trucks were a far more serious threat to the bridge. He finally piped down. But we have to talk to these people and try to educate them.

 

[kabz]

Maybe one of the best things we can do as GA pilots is get our sh1t together and check notams properly, get a briefing, and stop busting TFRs.

 

[350DRIVER]

Everyone needs to get involved and contact their local CBS station and complain. What about cars and SUVs driving without security- they can carry larger bombs-- if the CBS station has a helicopter, point out they enjoy this freedom.

You could gather enough pilots to have a million man march and have Louis leading the group and this likely will have very little impact on CBS or it's affiliates. When a network deems it appropriate to run with something they are going to run full steam ahead, not look back, and not much (if anything) is going to slow them down, remember when ratings are weighing in the balance they surely are going to take the side that they feel will generate the most publicity and interest regardless if it is "factual" or "right". The American public for the most part is pretty nieve to the aviation industry, security procedures, etc, etc, so this probably will come across as making complete sense in more ways than one. Any emails that are sent probably will not do much anything in the way of "proving" anything to anyone since this story is pretty much written in stone and no pilot will be able to make any changes even though we know how one-sided this is going to be. You cannot allow your personal emotions to interfer with what we know is right versus wrong, this would be nothing more than a complete waste of time.. You are along for the ride as a spectator so watch it or do not watch it, your choice.

Most media figures will not be influenced by a few hundred emails being sent out in protest of a story that they plan to air. I see your point, desires, interests, but you need to understand that doing anything is just as good as doing nothing with regards to this issue.


One cannot fault CBS for generating the interst and story even though it may be biased and not completely factual.

3 5 0

>> take the frustration out on a few beers after watching it.

 

[CitationLover]

who the hell watches cbs news?

 

[Midwest]

Nothing on the website.

 

[labbats]

I went to www.cbs.com and scrolled down to the feedback section.
Someone told me once that letters are taken very seriously by businesses, because for every one person who sends in a letter, there's 100 more that feel the same way.

 

[MaxT]

Below is the email I sent to CBS's channel 5 news assignment editor in S.F. last night. Don't know if he'll call--it's not 11AM yet.

I also sent a note to Phil Boyer at AOPA, who in part replied this morning: "... yes, we had heard, but we'll do our best to try to set them straight "

If you feel comfortable talking to on camera about how the real threat is hugh plane with thousands of gallons of fuel, and not spam cans that carry a few hundred pounds and about as much fuel as our governor's Hummer.....then send a note to your own local station. Maybe one or more will come out and show people how small our planes are, and help them realize that vans and trucks and jet liners are the real threat.
MaxT
P.S. I found the assignment editor's name by doing a google search.


Brian,
Regarding the teaser for Wednesday's CBS Evening News:
"There are thousands of general aviation airstrips around the country with little or no security. How can that be after 9-11? We'll have the story on Wednesday's CBS Evening News."

You might want to consider on the local news going to a local airport and showing people how small these planes are,
how little they carry, and hence how tiny a threat they are compared to airliners carrying thousands of gallons of gasoline.

From the www.aopa.org website, AOPA President Phil Boyer testified before congress in 2001 that "in this national tragedy, it was airline security that was breached, and airline transport category equipment used as weapons. However, general aviation was the last allowed to return to the sky, and not all GA is yet flying. "We're not talking about big airplanes," Boyer told Congress. "We're talking about 4-place, single-engine aircraft that are on average 30 years old, cost the same as a car, and have the same weight and kinetic energy of a car."

You only have to look at the pictures of the Cessna that the teenager flew into a building in Tampa to see that these planes are incapable of causing much damage. Most of these planes carry so little fuel they don't even burn when there's an accident.

Give me a call if you want to talk further. I'll be in a meeting from 9-11AM, but should otherwise be free.
best regards,
MaxTxxxxxxxx, flight instructor
650-xxxxxxxxxx

 

[310]

Avbug,
Do you really think that pilots should go thru security before flying? The Tampa kid proved that GA is not a threat -- where's the logic?

 

[labbats]

I called my local CBS affiliate and they are now considering interviewing people at the local airport about this very topic.

 

[Midwest]

Nothing on the website.

Nevermind.

In our Eye on America segment, Bob Orr looks into a weak point in homeland security, the hundreds of municipal airports across the country. By and large, security at these facilities is pretty loose - and as Bob reports - terrorists know it.

 

[Flying Illini]

I like how they ended the segment (talk about scaring people):

"Vulnerability is the price we all have to pay for General Aviation's freedom."

I tried to not let this segment bother me, but it really does. I can't help it. They sure scared alot of people tonight. Nevermind the fact that trucks can carry 2 times the weight of a Cessna 172 (and did in the Ok City bombing). Rediculous.

I hope that AOPA is on their toes b/c they've got some work to do.

PS I find it funny that CBS made no attempt to contact AOPA about their concerns with general aviation.

 

[dmspilot00]

Looks like that airport manager really blew it. If he is so concerned why doesn't HE put up a fence and institute security measures?

 

[Flying Illini]

I thought the same thing...then I began to wonder what else he said that they cut out. I know that happens. Often times what you say during an interview and what is shown on TV are nowhere near the same and can sometimes come across as being opposite of how you feel.

 

[blueridge71]

CBS?

See BS.

 

[MaxT]

...then I began to wonder what else he said that they cut out. I know that happens.

I'm sympathetic to the airport manager who probably got ambushed or was in over his head. The ex-NTSB guy is another story. I can't believe his comment about loading explosives in a small plane.

 

[ShawnC]

I'm sympathetic to the airport manager who probably got ambushed or was in over his head. The ex-NTSB guy is another story. I can't believe his comment about loading explosives in a small plane.

As someone I heard say after 9-11 after he was grounded from flying his powerline patrol.

"I couldn't even tear up a double-wide in my Cessna"

I hate stories like these, I remember at Sun n Fun, watching a news crew interview a friend of mine, and the entire time she was trying to steer him into saying that flying into the show was unsafe.

 

[Jmmccutc]

folks, i too replied to the feed back on the broadcast...i agree the manager seemed overwhelmed...

here is the letter i sent to CBS i hope that they take it to hart...i know what it's like to have some one argue over closing down your training field and it's not a good thing...i'd hate to see training enviroment all over our nation be suffocated...


Letter starts here:
As a young person going to school to be a pilot I feel that the segment run about general aviation (GA) airports and their risk to allow terrorism into the United States needs to be re-evaluated. Many of the small GA airports are just that, small. This means that the number of people going in and out is also small, the numbers of which make it very easy to recognize the faces of people that frequent them. Suspicious activity is also easy to recognize. There are several defense systems at airports, the first of which is you an American citizen concerned for the safety of fellow Americans and our GA airports. When a suspicious activity is spotted there are steps that need to be taken, notify your authorities, or 1-800-GA-SECURE, operated by AOPA. They have systems that allow you to report suspicious activity so that it can be stopped before a catastrophic event ever happens. As a line service employee at several airports it has been my job (and one that I take great pride in) to make sure that my airport stays safe.

There were several things mentioned in your show that I disagree with. The first deals with Eagle’s Nest Air Park. "Every house has a paved taxiway to the runway," this is because the people that live here love to fly. Are you going to take away someone’s driveway if their passion is classic cars? “…Vulnerability will be the price for general aviations freedom,” and GA is just that free. If you have never experienced your wheels lifting off the runway then you do not know the length that GA pilots will go to ensuring that they can continue to fly unrestricted.

Granted there is always the “possibility” that a terrorist attack can be made from a GA facility. But I would like to point out that a Cessna 172R, a very popular light aircraft, has a maximum take of weight of approximately 2,450 lbs. This airplane also holds 53 gallons of total fuel at 6 lbs./gal. it equals 318 lbs. If you then throw a 200 lbs. pilot into the aircraft you are looking at 518 lbs. of cargo alone. The empty weight of the aircraft is 1760 lbs. allowing only an additional 690 lbs to be added to the aircraft in order for it to be under maximum gross weight. This means that with fuel, and only one pilot you have only an additional 172 lbs. of payload available. If a terrorist would like to damage the United States, I would think a one-ton pickup truck with a 2,000-pound payload would be slightly more desirable than a GA aircraft.

Tom Ridge is taking steps to improve safety across the board. He is doing what I feel is a good job but people need to understand that it will take time and money. With the American public concerned for our own well being as well as the efforts Secretary Ridge and his department is making to improve safety across the board America will continue to be a safe place. We call it terrorism for a reason, because we are scared of the consequences. Making an effort to improve safety while still allowing the thousands of aviation enthusiasts to enjoy their passion freely is the best solution. Criticism does nothing except to annoy many people such as myself.

Please do not attack GA and the pilots, for they are not the problem. The person who desires to harm innocent lives is the problem and must be stopped. As citizens it is our duty to look out for our country and interests, GA is a wonderful pastime, profession, and passion, lets not kill it with razor wire and guard dogs.

Lastly I leave you with a thought. You mentioned that “…terrorists are well aware of these small insecure airports. ‘That's where they learned to fly,’ says Goelz. ‘We know the terrorists trained at small aviation systems.’” This may be true but I would hate to think that the image of a few bad individuals would place a black mark on a wonderful educational opportunity. The next time you board an airline look at the person, male or female, piloting the aircraft, with out small flight schools and general aviation many of these excellent folks would not be in their current positions. I was the little boy standing on the soccer field watching the airplanes instead of the game, it was a dream then to fly, and I would hate to see the next generation of dreamers loose the opportunity to experience the magic of flight as a result of ever increasing GA concerns. Thank you.

 

[midlifeflyer]

My contribution to CBS and our local affiliate:

==============================
Gentlemen,

I want to thank you for one of more enjoyable, although brief, periods I have spent in front of the TV in a long, long time.

When I saw the trailer for your story on general aviation security earlier in the day, I was expecting another exercise in media sensationalism - taking a relatively benign activity and looking for some reason to turn it into a crisis, all the name of ratings. Instead I was treated to one of the best satires on media excess that I have ever seen! This was worth a spot on Saturday Night Live.

The threat to national security posed by those living at a residential airpark with a 2500' grass runway! (Okay, okay, for accurate reporting they also have a 2000' paved one!)

The danger posed by squeezing your Aunt Shirley into your 4-seat airplane (which is about the size of your car and holds far less luggage) to _visit her cousin in Dubuque, without forcing her to go through a metal detector!

I howled! I rolled on the floor! _I haven't laughed so hard in years!

But tell me. Aren't you just a little bit concerned that the network news team that was instrumental in turning the tide of the Vietnam war is now telling jokes instead of doing news stories?

==============================

 

[BobSmith_av8r]

Hey Avbug.. you still agree with CBS!

Anybody who agrees with the nonsense reported on CBS is a complete moron!

January 15, 2004

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