Recent Events Raise Concerns About Security at U.S. Airports
Airport Director Killed in Shoot Out
On March 19, 2024, Bryan Malinowski, the Executive Director of the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, was killed during a confrontation with federal agents. "According to the unsealed and partly redacted affidavit from ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives], Malinowski bought more than 150 guns between May 2021 and February 2024, which he resold without a license."
The Clinton National Airport accommodates commercial, military, cargo and general aviation aircraft.
Below are excerpts from a 3/22/2024 Washington Post article Airport Executive Killed in Shootout Was Being Investigated for Gun Sales.
An Arkansas airport director who was fatally wounded in a shootout with federal agents this week was being investigated for illegal arms sales, according to unsealed court documents.
Bryan Malinowski, who was 53 and the executive director of Little Rock's Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, was shot when the agents arrived at his home early Tuesday to serve a federal search warrant, the Arkansas State Police said. He died on Thursday, according to statements from his family and the airport.
State police said the shooting, also in Little Rock, took place at around 6 a.m. Tuesday. The agents were trying to serve the warrant when Malinowski opened fire, resulting in the agents returning fire, the local division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said.
To read the article in full click here.
Drug Trafficking at Wisconsin Airport
On 2/8/2024 two men were arrested in Wisconsin on drug charges. The estimated street value of the drugs found in their possession was $2 Million. They were apprehended after returning to the Middleton Airport in a Cessna 172 rental plane (N5303T) owned by Morey Airplane Company of Middleton, Wisconsin. Per the Middleton Municipal Airport website, "The city contracts with Morey Airplane Company to operate the airport."
Over the span of nearly two decades, the pilot of the aircraft, Larry Williamson, had engaged in multiple unlawful behaviors. According to a 11/3/2011 Capitol Times report, Police Looking for Armed and Dangerous Man, "Williamson has a long history of lawbreaking dating back to when he was a juvenile, including convictions for two counts of battery in 2011, perjury in court in 2010, theft in 2009, auto theft in 2008, battery and bail jumping in 2006 and four felonies as a juvenile."
This situation prompts a number of questions.
- Did Williamson have a valid pilot's license?
- If so, who provided his flight training?
- What kind of application is required to rent a plane from Morey Airplane Company? Are background checks required?
- If he did have a valid license, how many other pilots with antisocial tendencies and criminal backgrounds have been certified by the FAA to fly over our homes and neighborhoods?
- How are student pilots screened before being accepted into a flight training program?
The excerpts below are from a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, Tip Leads to 2 Arrests, 46 Pounds of Fentanyl Pills at Middleton Airport.
Two Dane County men face up to life in prison after allegedly flying more than 45 pounds of fentanyl pills into Middleton Municipal Airport. Corvalis M. Stewart, 36, of Madison, and Larry D. Williamson Jr., 35, of Waunakee, each was charged Tuesday with possessing more than 400 grams of fentanyl intended for distribution.
Stewart and Williamson were in possession of about 46 pounds of M30 Fentanyl pills and 17.5 pounds of a methamphetamine and fentanyl mixture at the time of their arrest...
According to the complaint, law enforcement got a tip on Feb. 6 from someone who "interacted with Stewart and Williamson at an airport in Arizona"...
The tipster said the men engaged in "suspicious behavior," and gave their airplane's tail number to Homeland Security officials. The plane was a private rental plane.
To read the article in full click here.
To access a press release from the U.S. Justice Department on this arrest click here.
Inadequate Security at GA Airports
There are few mandated security measures for General Aviation (GA) aircraft and airports which account for more than 75% of all U.S. air traffic. Unlike commercial travelers, most pilots and passengers who fly out of GA airports in this country are not required to undergo TSA screenings, pat downs or baggage checks before boarding or disembarking.
The 2017 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) publication Security Guidelines for General Aviation Airport Operators and Users acknowledges the following:
- "There are more than 19,000 landing facilities nationwide, including heliports, lakes, and dirt landing strips in remote wilderness areas, as well as GA airports near urban setting that rival the size and operations of some commercial service airports."
- "There are approximately 200,000 active GA aircraft in the U.S. that are responsible for 77% of all U.S. air traffic."
The excerpts below help to elucidate the extreme lack of security protections at GA airports. Loopholes so broad you can drive more than three-quarters of all U.S. air traffic through them.
"This document does not contain regulatory language nor is it intended to suggest that any recommendations or guidelines should be considered mandatory. These recommendations and guidelines are not intended to suggest any specific or general criteria to be met in order to qualify for Federal funding." (Pg. 5)
"Historically, civil aviation security regulations have not applied to GA airport operators and users. Before September 11, 2001, the Federal Government's role in airport security focused largely on those airports serving scheduled and public charter operations that required passenger screening. To date, TSA has not required GA airports to implement security measures except as necessary to provide enhanced security for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including facilities located within the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Special Flight Rules Area and gateway airports that are the last point of departure to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)." (Pg. 8)
"...GA operators, and the IC [Intelligence Community] agree that the use of an aircraft for an attack on a specific target is the dominant threat related to general aviation. Other concerns range from acts perpetrated by lone operators to large business aircraft of foreign origin carrying unknown contraband, including nuclear materials or weapons. General aviation aircraft may be stolen, hijacked, and/or modified to serve as Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs). In some cases, the aircraft could be targets, whether in flight or on the ground. Finally, light or small aircraft should not be dismissed as a threat merely because their casualty potential is low—the infliction of terror alone, or the resulting economic impact, could be sufficient to achieve a terrorist's goals." (Pg. 10)
The publication, which was developed jointly by the TSA and aviation industry lobbying groups, focuses primarily on identifying terrorism threats while giving minimal attention to the possibility of GA aircraft and airports being used for illegal drug, gun, and sex trafficking or other unlawful activities.
The laxity and loopholes inherent in the absence of mandated, enforceable GA security regulations leaves the American public highly vulnerable to lawless and criminal behavior at airports and in the skies across this country.
For more background on this topic, see the August 12, 2012, Oregon Aviation Watch article General Aviation Airports Pose a Threat to National Security.
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