General Aviation Airports Pose a Threat to National Security

By Miki Barnes
August 12, 2012

Nearly eleven years have elapsed since that fateful September day when Mohammed Atta commandeered American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.[1] A few minutes later fellow terrorist Marwan al Shehhi steered United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower.[2] Both Atta and Shehhi obtained pilot's licenses and received large jet flight simulator instruction at Huffman Aviation in Venice Florida. They also trained at Jones Aviation in Sarasota, Florida.[3]

Hani Hanjour, who piloted American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, was rejected from a flight school in his home country before receiving pilot training in the U.S. After being turned away by the flight school in Saudi Arabia he was accepted at Arizona Aviation. From there he went on to obtain both a private and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued commercial pilot certification. Hanjour then returned to Saudi Arabia where he was denied admission to a civil aviation school. Upon returning to the U.S. Hanjour trained on a Boeing 737 simulator at the Pan Am International Flight Academy in Mesa, Arizona.[4] He also trained and practiced at Air Fleet Training Systems in Teterboro, New Jersey, and Caldwell Flight Academy in Fairfield, New Jersey.[5]

United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed short of its presumed Washington DC target, came down in a field in Pennsylvania. This aircraft was piloted by Ziad Jarrah[6] who received his private pilot training at the Florida Flight Training Center in Venice, Florida.[7] In addition he trained at Hortman Aviation,[8] which serves the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware region.[9]

Within the space of seventy-seven minutes, terrorists transformed four commercial aircraft into weapons of mass destruction. "More than 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center; 125 died at the Pentagon; 256 died on the four planes. The death toll surpassed that at Pearl Harbor."[10] Though the terrorist pilots and co-conspirators trained at U.S. general aviation flight schools and all were from foreign countries, there continue to be serious failings in the U.S. security program for monitoring general aviation aircraft and airports, especially in regards to the training of foreign pilots.

Since 9/11, commercial airline passengers are subjected to heightened security checks every time they board an aircraft. By contrast general aviation pilots and passengers, including foreign flight training students, are spared this inconvenience even though "U.S. government threat assessments have discussed plans by terrorist organizations to use general aviation aircraft to conduct attacks against U.S. targets."[11]

U.S. Government Accounting Office Report on General Aviation Security - Key Points

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was established in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is charged with the task of ensuring national and aviation security in this country. Only scheduled commercial airline operations are required to abide by the TSA's full airport screening program. General aviation aircraft are not. According to the TSA, "General Aviation (GA)...accounts for some 77 percent of all flights in the United States. It encompasses a wide range of activities, from pilot training to flying for business and personal reasons, delivery of emergency medical services, and sightseeing. Operations range from short-distance flights in single-engine light aircraft to long-distance international flights in corporate-owned wide-bodies, and from emergency aero-medical helicopter operations to airships seen at open-air sporting events. The sole characteristic that General Aviation operations have in common is that flights are not routinely scheduled; they are on-demand."[12]

Unfortunately the TSA is extraordinarily lax in addressing the significant dangers posed by general aviation aircraft. In fact, the TSA has neither developed nor implemented any federally mandated security measures for aircraft which weigh less than 12,500 pounds.[13]

In July of 2012 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report identifying some of the weaknesses found in the remarkably few general aviation security requirements that do exist. The GAO report, titled General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat,[14] was described as a public version of a document released in June of 2012, parts of which were deemed too sensitive for public disclosure: "...this report omits sensitive information regarding potential vulnerabilities we identified related to TSA's vetting process for foreign nationals seeking flight training, and associated recommendations we made. In addition, we have omitted sensitive background information on the potential damage that could be caused by different types of general aviation aircraft crashing into buildings."[15]

Key points raised in the report are bulleted below.

    • Serious Flaws in TSA Program for Monitoring Students Pilots

      • In recognition that terrorists responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks learned to fly at U.S. flight schools, the Alien Flight Student Program (AFSP) was put in place "to help determine whether foreign students enrolling at flight schools pose a security threat."[16] Unfortunately, the "TSA has not ensured that all the foreign nationals seeking flight training in the United States have been vetted through AFSP prior to beginning this training or established controls to help verify the identity of individuals seeking flight training who claim U.S. citizenship."[17]

      The report found that, "TSA's analysis indicated that some of the 25,599 foreign nationals in the FAA airmen registry were not in the TSA AFSP database, indicating that these individuals had not applied for the AFSP or been vetted by TSA before taking flight training and receiving an FAA airmen certificate...an additional number...had not been successfully vetted...or received permission from TSA to begin flight training."[18] Shockingly, since the vetting does not occur until after the foreign national may start flight training, even under the current system, "...foreign nationals with the intent to do harm, such as three of the pilots and leaders of the September 11 terrorist attacks, could have already obtained the training needed to operate an aircraft before they received any type of vetting."[19] Moreover, "TSA's Program Manager for AFSP could not explain with certainty why some of the foreign nationals applying for FAA airman certificates may not have been vetted through TSA's security threat assessment process."[20]

    • Foreign Pilots May Be in the Country Illegally

      • According to the report, the "AFSP is not designed to determine whether a foreign flight student entered the country legally; thus a foreign national can be approved for training through AFSP after entering the country illegally."[21] In fact, "...according to TSA, prospective flight students may apply for AFSP before entering the United States, rendering moot the question of whether the foreign national had entered the country legally or overstayed."[22]

      The report further noted instances of overstays which occur when individuals exceed their authorized period of admission and remain in the country illegally. Three of the six September 2001 hijackers were in violation of their temporary visa agreements. The TSA admits that the security threat assessment is not designed to determine if flight students are in the country legally. "TSA officials acknowledged that it is possible for a foreign national to be approved by TSA through AFSP and to complete flight training after entering the country illegally or overstaying his or her allotted time to be in the country legally."[23]

    • No TSA Security Program for Aircraft Weighing Less Than 12,500 Pounds

      • The TSA has no mandatory security requirements for aircraft that weigh less than 12,500 pounds.[24] This means that there are no TSA standards in place for screening foreign and domestic students, pilots and passengers prior to boarding general aviation aircraft that fall within this weight class.

    • Some Aircraft Weighing More Than 12,500 Pounds Exempt From TSA

      • Not all aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds are required to abide by TSA security measures - an estimated 9,900 privately owned aircraft weighing greater than 12,500, some of which rival commercial aircraft in size, are exempt from TSA security requirements. Aviation industry associations claim that requiring security measures for these aircraft would "impose substantial logistical and cost burdens on the aviation industry."[25] Thus, once again, loopholes designed to protect the financial interests of the far less than one percent of the population that can afford to own a private jet, continues to take precedence over national security, even though the report clearly stated that, "Analysis by the Homeland Security Institute indicates that some of these larger aircraft may be able to cause significant damage in terms of fatalities and economic costs, particularly general aviation aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 71,000 pounds. According to industry data, there are over 800 general aviation aircraft weighing over 71,000 pounds."[26]

      The GAO report revealed that TSA mandated security standards pertain primarily to scheduled public and private charter aircraft with 61 or more seats or to some chartered aircraft that weigh over 100,309.3 pounds.[27] Thus there are no mandated security measures whatsoever for the vast majority of aircraft and airports in the U.S.

    • 2010 Investigation of Illegal Boston Flight School

      • A 2010 Immigrations and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) investigation of a Boston area flight school exposed the consequences of the TSA's lack of security measures at general aviation airports. In this case, the then 26 year old Thiago DeJesus, a Brazilian immigrant who owned TJ Inc., a private flight training school,[28] was in the country illegally. Nonetheless, he held two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman certificates, one as an Airline Transport Pilot and one as a Flight Instructor. Though he was registered with the TSA as a flight training provider under AFSP, "...he had never received a TSA security threat assessment or been approved by TSA to obtain flight training."[29]

      The ICE investigation further revealed that of the 25 foreign nationals approved by the TSA to receive training at this school, eight had entered the country illegally. Of this number, one had been approved for flight training at two other U.S. schools as well. Three of the eight "obtained FAA airman certificates...and one held an FAA commercial pilot certificate."[30] Another foreign national who was in the country illegally received flight training through an airline.[31]

      Seventeen of the 25 TSA approved foreign nationals "were in 'overstay' status, meaning they had overstayed their authorized period of admission into the United States." Among this group, four managed to obtain FAA certification, one as a commercial pilot and three as private pilots. Sixteen of the seventeen were in overstay status at the time they received AFSP approval to begin training.[32] All were Brazilian nationals who were training in small single-engine aircraft.[33]

    • Public Monies Subsidizing Pilot Training for Foreign Nationals

      • According to the 9/11 Commission Report, one of the terrorists had researched the possibility of obtaining flight training in Europe but chose the U.S. on a recommendation from a flight school director who informed him that flight schools in the US "were less expensive and required shorter training periods."[34]

      A major reason why pilot training in the U.S. is so affordable is because the American public has been coerced into subsidizing general aviation airport infrastructure, including runways and taxiways, air traffic control towers, FAA staffing, and an array of other costs, which allows private flight training companies who actively recruit and engage in training foreign nationals to realize hefty profits.

      An example of this institutionalized folly is the Port of Portland owned and operated Hillsboro Airport (HIO), a facility that logs around a quarter million operations annually, over 200,000 of which are related to flight training. One of the key tenants at HIO is Hillsboro Aviation (HA), a for-profit company that lays claim to being one of the largest combined helicopter and airplane flight training schools in the country. HA maintains that it has trained pilots from over 75 countries. Among their accomplishments, HA lists the decision by the following organizations to choose their flight school for training: the Airline Pilot Association of Taiwan, the Japan Aviation Academy, Shanghai Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, and Luftfartsskolen School of Aviation in Norway.[35] The Port of Portland, the State of Oregon, and the FAA have dedicated millions of dollars in public resources to cover the cost of new runways, taxiways, and related infrastructure intended in large part to accommodate HA business interests. According to their website, HA logs 55,000 flight hours annually,[36] a figure that translates into six aircraft in the air simultaneously 24 hours per day, seven days a week, 365 days per year.

      It is difficult to ascertain exactly how many foreign nationals are training out of HIO due to a refusal on the part of the agencies involved to meaningfully respond to requests for information. The owner and operator of the airport, the Port of Portland, said that they don't track this information. The TSA maintained that it was outside their jurisdiction, while Hillsboro Aviation insisted that this information was proprietary thus unavailable to the public.

      Yet despite the significant security risks, the Port of Portland and the FAA are aggressively advocating for a third runway that will nearly double the capacity of HIO. Port documents state that "Future growth in local operations will be driven by training operations at Hillsboro Airport. This will be the function of the businesses on the airport which provide pilot training services."[37] Mary Maxwell, who served as Director of Aviation for the Port of Portland from 2004-2009 further confirmed the Port's intentions, "We're seeing a lot of development at that airport. Next on our plans will be the development of a third runway which is primarily a shorter runway for training aircraft."[38]

Lack of Mandated Security at Hillsboro Airport

Given that HIO often logs as many, if not more, annual operations than Portland International Airport (PDX), the largest commercial airport in the state, one might reasonably assume that TSA would have a significant presence at HIO. Alarmingly that is not the case. Despite the high likelihood that the majority of students training at this facility are from outside the country, there are no TSA agents at HIO nor are there any TSA security requirements for aircraft that weigh less than 12,500 pounds. This means that unlike commercial passengers, the foreign and domestic students receiving flight training in helicopters and small aircraft at HIO are subject to no security screenings whatsoever prior to boarding an aircraft.

Per the GAO report, "Responsibility for securing general aviation airports and aircraft is generally shared with state and local governments and the private sector, such as airports and aircraft owners and operators."[39] In this regard, TSA officials admit that "the agency does not have a systematic mechanism to collect the information on the security measures implemented by other general aviation operators..."[40] This suggests that in the absence of federally mandated requirements, the State of Oregon and the Port of Portland, with a wink and a nod from the City of Hillsboro, Washington County, and aviation business interests are fully complicit in developing an aviation system that compromises local, regional and national security interests.

Smaller Aircraft Can Cause Considerable Damage to Life and Property

Domestic pilots can pose a significant security risk. This is demonstrated by an intentional 2/18/10 accident that occurred when in a fit of suicidal rage directed towards the government, Joseph Stack slammed his single engine Piper into the first and second floors of an Austin, Texas IRS office. The pilot and an office employee were killed. The airplane "exploded on impact."[41] Following the crash debate ensued as to whether this event was a terrorist act or a criminal action.[42]

Accident reports attest to the destruction and loss of life a small aircraft weighing around 12,500 pounds, and often far less, can cause even when no malevolence is intended. The cases below illustrate this point.

    • On April 2, 2012 three customers were injured when an experimental Seawind 3000 weighing less than 3,500 pounds crashed into a Deland, Florida supermarket. The grocery store sustained over a million dollars in damage. The pilot of the aircraft eventually died from injuries due to the crash and his passenger was injured as well.[43] Bear in mind that many terrorists have a suicide bomber mentality that renders them indifferent to preserving their own lives thus the likelihood that they might die in an event of this nature does not necessarily sway their resolve to carry out a planned attack.
    • In a 10/14/09 tragedy in Gearhart, Oregon, 5 people, including 3 children, were killed and an additional three people sustained serious injury when a Cessna 172K crashed into a vacation home.[44] "A post impact fire destroyed the house and airplane."[45]
    • Last summer in Santa Monica, a student pilot crashed a Cessna 172M into a nearby home shortly after take-off. "The student pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured, and two of the three painters who were working outside the home sustained minor injuries."[46] One of the painters "was injured by flying debris" another was "splashed by fuel while trying to assist the pilot."[47]
    • Helicopters can also have a major impact as evidenced by the crash of a Sikorsky in El Segundo, CA, into the Raytheon Building. The pilot was seriously injured and the helicopter was destroyed. Two floors of the building were set on fire.[48] The maximum gross weight of this aircraft was listed as 13,000 pounds. [49]

These examples demonstrate that small aircraft, even under accidental circumstances, pose a significant danger to people and property on the ground, thus an organized attack by terrorists that might include explosives could easily wreak even more extensive destruction and loss of life than unanticipated mishaps. Given the excessive amount of flight training not only at Hillsboro Airport but also at multiple general aviation airports throughout the greater metropolitan region, it becomes abundantly obvious that Oregonians are at risk. An orchestrated effort involving multiple aircraft and airports is also a possibility, given the complete absence of pre-boarding screenings at general aviation airports, many of which engage in flight training.

Extremely Lax Security Measures at General Aviation Airports

The escapades of the teenage felon, Colton Harris-Moore, well illustrate the ease with which a would-be terrorist or common criminal can gain access to general aviation airports. According to "The Barefoot Bandit" author Bob Friel, Colton Harris-Moore, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," was an aspiring pilot with no flight training experience. On 11/12/08, he stole his first plane by walking through the open fence of the Orcas Island airport. The Sheriff's station located at the end of the runway did not hinder his ability to jimmy the lock of a hangar to gain access to a $175,000 Cessna Skylane.[50] He eventually crash-landed the aircraft on the Yakima Nation reservation.[51]

Harris-Moore's second theft occurred when he took a $700,000 Cirrus SR22 from the San Juan Island airport on September 11, 2009,[52] exactly eight years after the deadly terrorist attacks or the World Trade Towers. "Police later discovered a hideaway secreted in a hangar at the airport where he apparently camped out."[53]

From Washington, Harris-Moore traveled by stolen car to the Boundary County Airport in Idaho. It was here that on 9/29/09, he stole yet another Cessna, this one valued at $340,000. He managed to start the engine by turning the ignition switch with a screw driver.[54] After running out of fuel, he eventually crash landed near Granite Falls, Washington.[55]

Several months later on 2/10/10, just a few days before the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver Winter Olympics were slated to begin, Harris-Moore piloted a stolen $650,000 Cirrus SR 22 from the Anacortes Airport to the Orcas Island Airport[56] in the San Juans. Ironically, then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had a vacation home on Orcas Island.[57]

By May of 2010, Harris-Moore began his cross country odyssey by stealing cars, trucks and boats along the way. Airports that he easily gained entry to included:

    • The Warrenton-Astoria Regional Airport in Oregon where he stole a Dodge Journey from a Hertz office and also broke into the terminal building.
    • The McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon where he broke into a hangar and stole a car from a fixed based operator located on the airport.
    • The Ontario Airport in Oregon where a pick-up truck was stolen from airport property.
    • The Driggs Teton Peaks Municipal Airport in Idaho where a Cadillac was taken from a private hangar.
    • The Johnson County Airport in Wyoming where Harris-Moore broke into six hangars before making off with a $65,000 Cadillac.
    • The Black Hills Airport in South Dakota where he broke in and stole a Ford pick-up as well as some aviation fuel.
    • The Pierre Regional Airport in South Dakota where he unsuccessfully attempted to break into a Delta counter cash box.
    • The Chan Gurney Airport in South Dakota where he broke into the facility and tampered with the computer monitor.
    • The Karl Stefan Memorial Airport in Nebraska where, after entering through an unlocked door and disabling surveillance equipment, he stole yet another Cadillac from a private hangar.
    • The Pella Municipal Airport in Iowa where he broke in and took a Dodge Caravan and unsuccessfully attempted to break into a Cirrus SR22.
    • The Ottumwa Regional Airport in Iowa where he managed to break into a fixed base operator business and steal money from the cash drawer. In addition he stole a car from a neighboring agency.
    • Southwest Iowa Regional Airport where a truck was stolen.
    • The Vermillion Airport in Illinois where a car was stolen and five hangars were broken into.[70] It was thought that Harris-Moore "probably camped out in the abandoned control tower."
    • The Monroe County Airport in Indiana where it is likely that Harris-Moore camped out on airport property.[58]

It was from the Monroe Airport that Harris-Moore, on July 4, 2010 stole a fifth aircraft, a $650,000 Cessna which he subsequently crash landed in Bermuda.[59] Shortly thereafter he was finally apprehended by law enforcement authorities.[60]

Obviously, if a teenage criminal can steal five aircraft and break into more than 17 general aviation airports in seven different states in the space of less than two years, the United States has a serious problem with securing its airports.

Conclusion

U.S. residents are routinely left vulnerable as a direct result of the negligent security practices that put them at unnecessary and avoidable risk. Despite the devastating tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government continues to sponsor and promote a publicly funded general aviation system which leaves U.S. residents at risk of future criminal and terrorist attacks.

Many general aviation airports like the Hillsboro Airport that engage in flight training are subsidized in large part by the fees and taxes levied on commercial airline passengers who are subject not only to the TSA's groping, intrusive, security measures but also to the potentially damaging effect of radiation from the screening equipment. By contrast, student pilots training at general aviation airports are exempt from all pre-boarding security screenings. This duplicitous disregard for the personal privacy of those who fly in and out of commercial airports while completely ignoring the potential threat of foreign and domestic student pilots and other users of general aviation airports is indefensible.

To demonstrate that they are serious about national security, the TSA must enact mandated general aviation security measures immediately. These requirements should include enforceable consequences such as escalating fines, restriction or termination of airport privileges, revocation of pilot certification, and loss of further funding for airport infrastructure. Airport users should also be required to hire TSA personnel to perform security checks on all who set foot on the airfield. All directives should be fully funded by airport users.

Regardless of the costs to the general aviation industry, regardless of the cost to flight training companies, general aviation airports must be required to implement appropriate security measures.

In response to concerns about the adverse impacts of flight training on the community, aviation interests often point to the money students from around the world invest in the economy. The 9/11 terrorists also invested in this country. In fact, the Executive Summary of the 9/11 Commission Report indicated that, "The operatives spent more than $270,000 in the United States."[61] Does this paltry sum even begin to address the cost of the terrible loss of life and the national trauma that ultimately spawned two multi-billion dollar wars? Was it worth the price?

Sources

[1] The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. pg. 5-7.

[2] Ibid. pg.7-8.

[3] Ibid. pg. 224.

[4] Ibid. pg. 225-227.

[5] Ibid. pg. 242.

[6] Ibid. pg. 10-14.

[7] Ibid. pg. 224.

[8] Ibid. pg. 242.

[9] Hortman Aviation website. http://www.hortmanaviation.com/

[10] The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Executive Summary. pg. 1-2.

[11] GAO, General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat, GAO-12-875 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2012). pg. 1.

[12] General Aviation: Transportation Sector Network Management. TSA website. (7/26/10). http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/tsnm/general_aviation/index.shtm

[13] GAO, General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat, GAO-12-875 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2012). pg. 12.

[14] GAO, General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat, GAO-12-875 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2012).

[15] Ibid. pg. 4.

[16] GAO. Statement Lord, Stephen M. Statement Before the Subcommittee on Transporation Security, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives. General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat. GAO-12-900T. (Washington D.C. : July 18, 2012). pg. 1. http://homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/Testimony-Lord_0.pdf

[17] GAO, General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat, GAO-12-875 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2012). pg.20.

[18] Ibid. pg. 23-24.

[19] Ibid. pg.24.

[20] Ibid. pg.24.

[21] Ibid. Highlights.

[22] Ibid. pg. 30.

[23] Ibid. pg. 28.

[24] Ibid. pg. 12.

[25] Ibid. pg. 19.

[26] Ibid. pg. 18-19.

[27] Ibid. pg. 12.

[28] Sacchetti, Maria. Flight School Students Arrested. Boston Globe. (11/5/10). http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/05/flight_school_arrests_raise_terrorism_fears/?page=2

[29] GAO, General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat, GAO-12-875 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2012). pg. 29.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Ibid. pg. 30.

[32] Ibid. pg. 29-30.

[33] Sacchetti, Maria. Flight School Students Arrested. Boston Globe. (11/5/10). http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/05/flight_school_arrests_raise_terrorism_fears/?page=2

[34] The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. pg. 168.

[35] Hillsboro Aviation website. http://www.hillsboroaviation.com/en/page/about_us_why_hai

[36] Ibid. http://www.hillsboroaviation.com/en/page/history/

[37] Hillsboro Airport Master Plan. Prepared for the Port of Portland. (6/8/05). pg.3-31.

[38] Tucker, Libby. A Conversation with Mary Maxwell. Daily Journal of Commerce. pg.3. (8/25/06). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4184/is_20060825/ai_n16699875/

[39] GAO, General Aviation Security: Weaknesses Exist in TSA's Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Threat, GAO-12-875 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2012). 10.

[40] Ibid. pg. 18.

[41] National Transportation Safety Board. Factual - Report Aviation. NTSB ID: CEN10FA124. http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/tnodqbavyunkqe45hnouvurc1/S08112012120000.pdf

[42] Schneider, Jeff. When Is Terrorism Not Terrorism? Austin, Joe Stack and Why Semantics Matter. Huff Post Politics. (2/23/10). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-schneider/when-is-terrorism-not-ter_b_473216.html?view=screen

[43] Swisher, Skylar. Publix Sues Over Airplane Crash Into Deland Store. The Daytona Beach News Journal. (7/18/12). http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2012/07/18/publix-sues-over-airplane-crash-into-deland-store.html

[44] Gearhart Plane Crash Family Files Lawsuit. The Daily Astorian. (2/18/09).

[45] National Transportation Safety Board. Accident Database and Synopses. http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20080808X01194&key=1

[46] Ibid. http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/veqkjq45ae4wv045eyvdyt551/K07212012120000.pdf

[47] Santa Monica Mayor Speaks out After Plane Crashes Into Home. KTLA News. 8/31/11. http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-light-plane-crash-santa-monica,0,2614979.story

[48] Helicopter Bursts Into Flames After Crashing Into Building. KTLA.com. (3/14/11). http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-helicopter-crash-el-segundo,0,3767114.story

[49] National Transportation Safety Board. Accident Database and Synopses. http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/apawfx45dncaz425b4pwhr3s1/A08052012120000.pdf

[50] Friel, Bob. The Barefoot Bandit: The True Tale of Colton Harris-Moore, New American Outlaw. Hyperion: New York. (2012). Pg.1-8

[51] Ibid. pg.11.

[52] Ibid. pg.66.

[53] Ibid. pg.65.

[54] Ibid. pg 80-83.

[55] Ibid. pg.88.

[56] Ibid. pg.244-245.

[57] Ibid. pg.252.

[58] Ibid. pg.301-343.

[59] Ibid. pg.350-352.

[60] Ibid. pg.390-391.

[61] The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Executive Summary. pg. 14.

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