Flight schools pay closer
attention to their students

In wake of Sept. attacks,

operators are considering

behavior and background

By paul godino

Staff Writer

Prior to Sept. 11 when hijacked planes flew into targets in New York City and Virginia, there were no regulations in place to help a small flight school operator screen prospective students.

Since the attacks, the ball is still very much in the flight school operators’ court, despite the knowledge that the hijackers received flight training from small flight schools similar to those at regional airports such as those in this area — Monmouth Executive Airport, Wall Township, Monmouth County, and Lakewood Airport, Lakewood, Ocean County.

Jerry Solliem, chief flight instructor at O’Brien Aviation at Lakewood Airport, said FBI officials have asked him and other flight instructors to "profile" students and surrender to the bureau any information on a student who fits the description of a Middle Eastern ethnicity. However, the flight school is not required to deny lessons to a prospective student who fits this profile.

Any information on past students who fit that profile has already been sent to the FBI, he said. Solliem said the FBI made this request immediately following the attacks.

There is no penalty for not giving the FBI the requested information, Solliem said.

Despite federal involvement with local flight schools, instructors and operators seem a bit unsure of just what they are supposed to do in regard to potential trainees.

Rick Lange, a temporary flight instructor for Garrett Aviation at Monmouth Executive Airport, said his understanding of the federal request was that anyone who is in the United States on a visa or has a foreign pilot’s certificate would have their information handed over, not just those of Middle Eastern descent. Lange also said it was his understanding that the order came down from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), not the FBI.

Jim Peters, public affairs officer for the New York branch of the FAA, said it was not the FAA which made the request, however.

FBI Special Agent and spokeswoman Sandra Carroll would not comment on specific requests made by the FBI to flight schools and stopped short of denying that any such profiling request was made.

"We’ve interviewed the flight schools in connection with the attacks," Carroll said, adding that she could not comment on the specific information investigators asked for.

Gary Friedmann, owner of Garrett Aviation, said it is up to him to decide who he will and will not do business with.

Friedmann did not speak about the request made by federal authorities, but did say, "If a customer walked in the door and wanted to take flying lessons, they would get treated like a customer."

However, Friedmann went on to say that if a customer fit the description of a person of Middle Eastern descent, he, as the school’s owner, would have to make a decision on whether to accept that customer’s business.

Security at the airports themselves has received some aid from local police, who come by every few hours to patrol the perimeter of the airport properties.

Some restrictions were placed on airports for a limited time following the attacks.

Ed Brown, owner of the Monmouth Executive Airport, said that for a few weeks following Sept. 11, all flight plans were to be filed with the FAA. Also, flights were restricted to pilots who held an Instrument Flight Rating (IFR). Pilots with a Visual Flight Rating (VFR) — who make up the majority of private pilots — were restricted from flying.

IFR pilots can fly a plane using only the plane’s navigational instruments. This technique is used in instances of dense fog or heavy storms. VFR pilots fly only by sight and cannot fly planes through extremely dense fog and bad weather. During the period of restrictions, only IFR pilots were allowed to fly.

Brown said both restrictions have been lifted for the most part. Many flight plans must still be submitted, but filing plans for recreational, private flights is no longer required.

However, pilots are still restricted from flying within 25 miles of New York City and Washington, D.C., Brown said, and they cannot fly over nuclear power plants.

Aside from perimeter patrols by local police forces and the short-lived restrictions on flights and pilots, the airport operators themselves are largely responsible for internal security.