Flying: The 9/11 Effect

[Greg Anderson]

My last flight was 8/25/2001. I had just completed my 43rd hour of training towards my private. Weather in the Seattle area had been bad that summer and I couldn't get up again. After 9/11, Boeing decided to lay off 30,000 people. Afraid I might be one of them, I stopped flying to save money, thinking I'd get back to it if things worked out. Because of the layoffs, engineering groups got consolidated. My group moved north in the summer of 2002 and a year of commuting made us move in 2003. The new mortgage was higher and here I sit. I might get back into the air next year, but I said that last year too.

[Thomas P. Turner]

Q: In the 10 years since the 9/11 attacks, how has your flying changed or not changed?

Other than the need to check for TFRs, which I think has changed my flight planning one time since 9/11/01, my flying has not changed as a result of the Sept 11th terrorist attacks.

Q: How do non-pilots or non-aviation enthusiasts view recreational flying, homebuilding, and other aviation activities now that 10 years have passed since the 9/11 attacks?

No change. The factors that color the public's perception of personal aviation are independent of the terrorist threat.

[Adam Smith]

A plethora of security annoyances, none utterly terrible but none of them help... TFRs, more & bigger fences around GA airports, ramp access security at FBOs, much harder to cross the border in and out of Canada, harder for foreign nationals to get flight training in the USA (I am a UK citizen), aircraft re-registration, needing to know intercept procedures for real...

The main positive I can see is that GA became a more attractive proposition compared to commercial airline travel. I definitely take more GA trips now to avoid airport security.

[Ozzie]

I was working for a small but extremely busy airport in North Queensland Australia ten years ago. The security changes where almost immeadiate. Did not take long to work out that it was time to change jobs. Flying from an airport especially one with RPT services is a nightmare now. Wear your 200 dollar ASIC card on the lanyard around your neck (not clipped to your pocket thank you) or get smacked with a huge fine/jail. Forget to fit your throttle padlock or leave your empty hanger unlocked while you nip around the block and huge fine my friend. It goes on and on and on. Then quite a few country airports have a 'you beaut' 8 foot high chain link frontage complete with pin locked gate. If you can't remember the PAL frequency for the pin code and Mobil haven't ripped out the fuel farm yet, you can use the garnett card to slip the catch. (just like the hijack proof cockpit doors on %$^.'s B737s.) Or you can just walk a hundred yards to where the chain link fence ends and step around it. Most of the security is more of a worry than the percieved threat when it comes to the average 'weekend warrior'.
But when it comes to travelling in big jets i appreciate the attempt to make my trip as safe as possible. I don't mind the X ray and scans. It has it's faults and maybe some of the staff could do with some attitude adjustment. Maybe in a couple of years with all the high tech stuff coming out we'll be dealing with a machine rather than some individual that would rather be at the beach than dealing with me. Hopefully security will become relatively seamless. I'm just glad i fly a little ultralight from a private property. I left that cool job in paradise a month after 9/11. It only took a day or so for it to really sink in that it all had changed for ever.
Can't wait for the planned visit of President Obama later this year. This is going to close a 200mile radius of airspace around Sydney. Oh and yippee his 3 day visit covers a weekend. The skydiving centre and flying schools will be happy. Oh well hope the weather is tops for his harbour cruise.

[Joe LaMantia]

Interesting discussion, as far as my own flying is concerned 9/11 hasn't had any significant impact. I was in the process of getting a tail wheel endorsement when 9/11 occurred and the shut down that followed ended my attempt. I am in agreement with jb92563 and will add that what I notice most is the reaction of the general public to the loss of 5 KIA per day. During the Viet Nam we lost 100 per week killed and about 300 per week wounded, there are over 50 thousand names of those killed in that war on the "wall" in Washington. We had a draft in those days and we had a melt down on support for that war which cost LBJ his presidency. What we have today is a lack of perspective on the true impact of 9/11. We have 315 million citizens and lost roughly 4500 on 9/11 that is .0000142% of our population, we lose about 50 thousand a year to traffic accidents! What we have today is a public run by fear allowing politicians to exploit that fear with over spending on security and freedom restricting rules to "keep us safe". We get some goofy ideas and just plain miss-informed folks out there as a result of all the fear mongering. The gentlemen who equates the Meigs mess with terrorism is a bit off base. While I am more that PO'd at Mayor Daily's heavy handed tactics, that issue had nothing to do with terrorism. There was a strong movement to convert that property to a lakefront park. If you travel along the shores of Lake Michigan around Ill, Wis, Mich, and In you will see lakefront parks in most towns and cities. Chicago is the largest city on that Lake with over 6 million people, and that property is being developed for their use. As a member of the aviation community I regret the loss of that high profile airport, but as a former lakeshore resident I think the general public is better served with a park.

[Antique Tower]

You missed my point. Mayor Daley was legally prohibited from destroying Meigs. He did it anyway - at 4 in the morning - by using terrorism as an excuse. He said that there was a risk that terrorists would fly off Meigs and crash into buildings.

Government misdeeds justified by the terrorist threat. That was my point.

[Joe LaMantia]

Yes your are correct, politicians have used 9/11 as an excuse to accomplish things that they may not have been able to do easily. My point was that Meigs was in the crosshairs long before Daley acted, he was building a case to close the airport to "protect" the Sears tower after 9/11, before that event there had been long discussions on the Lakefront airport with the regional planning commission. There was even a proposal to build a replacement airport offshore. A really bad idea given the winter weather and the need to get all the arrivals off an island and downtown. I think we are in agreement that the country over reacted to 9/11, the folks in govt. have used fear as a political tactic to miss lead the public. While this happened during a Republican administration, the Democrats haven't made any attempt to repeal it either.

[Lyle Peterson]

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin, just before February 17, 1775 as part of his notes for a proposition at the Pennsylvania Assembly.

[spungey]

I got my private in 1992. The FAR/AIM at that point in time was about 300 pages total. By 1995, when FEMA got involved it was over 800. It's even larger now (with the help of Homeland Security.) Last week Homeland Security issued a press release or "advisory" warning everyone in the country that small planes make great weapons (and terrorists will use them! Be afraid!)

Has the flying changed? Yes, it's harder. It takes longer to fly commercially and costs far more to fly privately. I can scratch even the idea of a photo flight over NYC or Washington DC now.

How do we save our freedom to fly where and when we want, when the FAA still pushes for their 19th-century mandate for "railways in the sky" (think "hub and spoke" or "primary and reliever") and HS wants to put everyone on the ground? Here's two ideas someone with connections can ship to the guys inside the beltway:

1. Move the cockpit door for airliners to the outside of the airframe ... NO connection with the passenger compartment. Ergo, no hijacking.

2. Do reasonable background checks for anyone starting flight training. Another form, like the medical perhaps. It shouldn't be the responsibility of the FOB's to figure out who is and who is not on the "watch list." Then Homeland Security can feel better about letting us fly in peace.

More ideas if those are well-received.

[bliddel]

I remember the "good old days" when we were more likely to kill ourselves than to be shot out of the sky by our own military. The terrorists won, and our own government made darn sure of it.

First it was Richards Gebaur airport, then the one in New Jersey, then Meigs Field...

From "endoftheamericandream-dot-com": "The sad truth is that America is not a better place after 9/11. We have betrayed our founding fathers and we have cast aside many of our liberties and freedoms because we are so afraid that we can't even see straight.

"Fortunately, a growing number of Americans is actually waking up. More Americans than ever are tired of being treated like garbage and this is starting to be reflected in recent polling. For example, according to a new Gallup poll an all-time record 63 percent of Americans have a negative view of the federal government.

"Hopefully we will start to see a cultural shift back in the direction of increased liberty and freedom.

"If not, we are in for a total nightmare. If we continue on the path that we are on, this nation is going to become an absolutely horrific place in which to live.

"A totalitarian police state is not going to keep you safe, but it will make your life a living hell."