News Archive
The Honorable Ander Crenshaw
510 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Crenshaw:
As president of AOPA, I represent more than 375,000 dues-paying members who own or fly general aviation aircraft, including more than 27,400 in Florida. More than half of all pilots in the United States are members of AOPA, making it the world's largest civil aviation organization. Today, I am writing in regards to your recent Dear Colleague letter that advocates a required background check for all current and future students enrolled in flight training.
Like all Americans, general aviation pilots are still in shock over the cowardly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and outraged that terrorists would use the freedom of our own aviation system against us. We are all deeply saddened by the tragic events and want to help in any way we can. However, your proposal to require background checks of all current and future students will place an undue burden upon an already damaged industry. Furthermore, the breakdown in security came not from screening student pilots, but in a failure of government agencies to properly examine those entering the country.
The ban on VFR flight training implemented in the wake of the events of September 11th will, by our estimate, produce a loss in flight instruction revenue reaching upwards of almost $200 million. The flight training industry, including such institutions as the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, adjacent to your district, has been severely damaged. The financial burden of a background check will cause many of those with an interest in learning to fly to simply not try at all. This lack of student pilots will force these schools, many of which are "mom and pop" operations, to lay off employees or close their doors.
The overwhelming majority of flight students are U.S. citizens who have done nothing to deserve this treatment. It is the responsibility of the State Department, the Customs Service, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to determine who may enter the country, and we would be pleased to work with you on proposals to enhance the procedures of the agencies that allowed terrorists to enter the country and enroll in flight training. But there is nothing to be gained by performing background checks on law-abiding citizens, especially when foreign candidates for flight training are still being admitted to the country using the same methodology that led to the attack. Please don't saddle an entire industry, which has no direct responsibility for who is allowed to enter the country, with an unfunded government mandate that would no doubt lead to the failure of numerous small businesses.
Thank you for taking our views into consideration. If you would like to discuss this issue or any others, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Phil Boyer
President, AOPA
September 26, 2001
