Possible Options to Mitigate the Security Risks of
General Aviation
A variety of options exist for mitigating security risks posed by GA aircraft and flight operations, many of which have been implemented or are currently under development or consideration. As previously discussed, the selection of mitigation options may need to be tailored to specific vulnerabilities and threats of different sectors of the GA industry which may differ significantly in their degree and scope. While a wide range of options are available, many of the more extensive and costly options for providing security may not be economically feasible, practical, or necessary at smaller GA airports away from major population centers. Several available options center on traditional security techniques to improve access controls and surveillance around GA facilities and better protect aircraft against theft and unauthorized use. Additional options include procedures for vetting individuals with authorized access to aircraft and aviation facilities, and procedures for clearing passengers. Another possible option for enhancing GA security would be to address law enforcement and homeland security response to suspicious activities and improved intelligence tracking of such incidents to identify patterns indicative of possible terrorist activity. Finally, in terms of adopting a layered security system to augment measures put in place at airports, airspace restrictions and defenses may be considered to protect high-profile sites and critical infrastructure from the threat of aerial attacks.
Costs, in terms of direct implementation and oversight costs as well as the indirect costs related to disruption of air commerce and freedom of movement, are likely to be important considerations in assessing the utility and feasibility of implementing specific options to enhance GA security. For example, implementing broadly applied security requirements for all GA airports may impose significant cost challenges, particularly to small, rural airports where the need for such measures may be questionable. Also, airspace restrictions tend to be highly contentious because while they directly impact air commerce and the freedom of movement, they are viewed by some experts as being of questionable value in preventing a terrorist attack unless coupled with elaborate air defense capabilities. Deploying air defense capabilities on a large scale to protect against possible aircraft attacks carries a relatively high cost and involves extensive commitments of resources and collaboration between the FAA, the DHS and the Department of Defense (DoD). The costs and benefits associated with various mitigation options can be analyzed in a risk analysis framework – examining the threat and vulnerability of specific sectors of the GA industry – to better understand the tradeoffs between various options.
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