Another “expert” weighs in on GA, post Joe Stack
I’m always suspicious of people who have things to say to the media, claim to be “aviation [security] experts” and who work(ed) for the TSA. Employment by the aforementioned agency certainly does not automatically grant “expert” status.
The simple fact is this: Sometimes there’s nothing you can do. Once in a while, lone maniacs decide to kill as many people as they can. All the name checks and technology in the world couldn’t have kept Stack from flying his plane into the IRS building. But perhaps this tragedy will cause the TSA to reconsider its ill-conceived plan to roll back general aviation security. (Boston Herald)
What we’re saying is that nothing would have stopped this guy, but we should use this as an excuse to burden GA with draconian security theatre measures anyway?
The columnist is right. Very little, if anything could have stopped this maniac. However, @NYCAviation made a very insightful statement
Hey Joe Stack! Having money problems? $10k money hole? MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE SOLD YOUR 6-FIGURE AIRPLANE!
Stack smashed the Piper he owned into a building in downtown Austin, killing himself and one other who was in the building at the time. The 90 second ATC tape (Stack is identified as “Dakota” or “8-9-Delta”) is completely routine chatter. Chilling in retrospect, but no clues that I or the controller on duty could discern as to what Stack was about to do.
In my best impression of how I imagine John Stossel might sum it up: Before we give the TSA more of our tax dollars, more authority over GA, allow them to impose more nonsense on the aviation community and the public at large, they should explain. Because so-called TSA security “experts” are citing this situation for an expansion of TSA powers, they have the burden to make the case in great detail how having all of these added tools and resources at our expense, financial and otherwise, would have stopped this attack. The reality is that it would not have.