Tighter Security For Flight Schools

January 10, 2002 / 4:56 AM EST / AP

The Federal Aviation Administration wants flight schools and businesses that serve private planes to increase security after a student pilot crashed an airplane into a Tampa skyscraper.

The FAA on Wednesday suggested that separate ignition and door keys for private planes be required, that planes be secured so they can't be flown without permission, that student pilots check-in with before getting keys, and that employees and pilots be trained to look for suspicious activity.

While the FAA did not issue an order, it advised the schools and businesses to "evaluate their operations from a security standpoint and institute policies and procedures commensurate with their specific business."

The agency said it was responding to Saturday's incident, when Charles Bishop, 15, stole an airplane from a flight school at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and crashed the plane into the 28th floor of a downtown Tampa office building.

FAA spokesman William Shumann said the agency decided to offer recommendations for increased security because it did not believe Saturday's incident was serious enough to justify an emergency order, and it would take too long to go through the procedure required to issue new regulations.

Warren Morningstar, a spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, an advocacy group, said many of the schools and businesses already are taking steps to increase security, and others will follow shortly.

"They are reasonable, they are practical and most important they can be implemented immediately," Morningstar said. "They really represent best business practices. What they're saying is a student pilot shouldn't be able to fly the aircraft until the instructor is ready for him to fly."

The FAA said security procedures should be followed for six months, but the agency can either extend the recommendations or issue new guidelines or regulations.

Earlier concerns over airline security led federal officials to restrict flights of private planes in major cities long after the terrorist attacks. Not until Dec. 19 did the FAA lift most restrictions, in Washington, New York and Boston.