AOPA defeats student background checks
While each of those has the potential to influence a prospective pilot's experience, the greatest barriers to learning to fly are those that stop someone from ever taking that first lesson.
Think back to your first flying lesson. If you walked into a flight school, filled out a few forms, and then were told that you'd have to undergo a background check and go to a police station or sheriff's office to be fingerprinted before you could walk out to the flight line with your instructor, would you still be enthusiastic about learning to fly?
That's just the situation that flight-school students faced in New York until August, when AOPA won a lawsuit challenging a state law that required criminal background checks for student pilots. Four years ago, AOPA won a similar battle in Michigan; more recently, we prevented a bill in the California legislature from becoming law. Our government affairs staff is continually watching for unfair barriers to flight training at the national, state, and even local levels.
How did that sad situation come to pass in New York?
After the terrorist attacks in September 2001, some New York state legislators wanted to increase security, and settled for criminal background checks on students training in New York. Of course, terrorists don't have criminal backgrounds in the United States. Meanwhile, Congress, the FAA, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) established a security screening process for any non-citizen who wants to learn to fly here.
The New York bill was unconstitutional because Congress has already preempted the regulation of aviation as a federal responsibility, and it had other flaws. First, because it specified "flight schools," it overlooked independent flight instructors--those not employed by or affiliated with a flight school--and their students. Second, it required that fingerprints and data be collected, then sent by a state agency to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national background check. But the FBI would not do this because the resulting information would be released to third parties. The background check, therefore, was effectively limited to any criminal history in New York--it would not reveal any criminal history in another state.
AOPA was aware of this bill from the beginning, and we tried to work with the New York legislature to scuttle the measure; later, we gave the governor compelling reasons to veto the bill. In spite of those efforts, he signed it into law--and AOPA sued, along with seven New York flight schools.
The issue was not about security, but rather what part of government has the authority and responsibility for aviation security. Federal aviation security regulations already vet pilots against terrorist watch lists, require proof of citizenship, and conduct background checks.
This law did nothing to enhance security for New Yorkers. As I mentioned earlier, TSA and the FAA already have aggressive and comprehensive security programs that include identity verification for all pilots as well as background checks for non-U.S. citizens. And all flight instructors are required to receive annual training on how to identify and report suspicious activities to TSA or local law enforcement.
The lawsuit stated that Congress has enacted legislation to create "a single, uniform system of regulation for the safety and security of aviation, to be maintained by the federal government." If the states were permitted to enact their own aviation security laws, it would create a patchwork of dissimilar and conflicting laws across the nation, "frustrating the purpose of a uniform and consistent system of safety regulation," the lawsuit said.
Although the law was short-lived, it had already created a negative impact on flight school businesses, with many reporting a downturn in student starts. While it was in effect we heard from prospective student pilots in New York about enforcement issues; some reported that they were denied flight training because their record contained anything at all--even a misdemeanor from 20 years ago.
AOPA's efforts to eliminate New York's unconstitutional background checks for flight-school students are another excellent example of what AOPA does on behalf of student pilots (see "President's Perspective: What we do for you," September 2007 AOPA Flight Training). We work to eliminate unnecessary barriers to flying so that you can realize your dreams and goals in aviation. It's just one part of our mission to keep flying safe, accessible, and affordable for all pilots.
To learn more about AOPA's advocacy for pilots, see AOPA Online.
