Aviation Week’s James E. Swickard writes that Delauter told a well-attended meeting of the Westchester Aviation Association that the agency was seeking a less adversarial relationship with the industry (see “TSA to Propose More Limited Security Measures for General Aviation,” 24 March 2010 HSNW). He added that TSA was very likely again to hold a series of “public meetings” on the new LASP, the first of which may well be at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, which hosted the first public meeting on the previous LASP. He said he fervently hoped that this iteration of the regulation would be considered more reasonable by pilots, flight department managers, FBOs, and other stakeholders.

 

The last LASP generated more than 9,000 negative comments and was ridiculed as being written by people with no knowledge of general and corporate aviation (see “TSA to Require Background Checks of Private Jets’ Passengers,” 14 October 2008 HSNW). An example was TSA wanting to prohibit the carriage of golf clubs, skis, pen knives and even tools in areas accessible to passengers. There were requirements to screen each pilot and passenger, including family members and lifetime acquaintances.

Delauter noted that the natural attitude of legislators and regulators was that if they did not understand something (like general aviation), they tended to fear it and he had to do a lot of educating in his job.

Swickard quoted Delauter to say that he will use his general aviation experience in government and private industry to lead TSA’s strategy to enhance security within the general aviation sector without crippling that sector. Both local operators and WAA members said the new relationship was, “like night and day.”

Delauter joined TSA in 2002 as a stakeholder liaison (airport security officer) and in 2006 he was appointed assistant federal security director at Jacksonville International Airport. In 2007 he was named federal security director at Savannah International Airport, where he was responsible for all TSA activities at nine airports across two states. During that period, he frequently flew a Cessna 172, the only time in his career, “he flew just for fun.”

Delauter began his aviation career at Eglin AFB, flew for Northwest Airlines and joined TSA after being furloughed, rounding out his aviation experience. He currently holds a Commercial Pilot license with single- and multi-engine land ratings, Airline Transport Pilot, and is Flight Instructor (Single Engine, Multi Engine and Instrument).

In an interview with Aviation Week after his presentation, Delauter stressed that the future holds a better relation between the agency and the industry, saying, “We’ll be ten times more secure in partnership, than without it.”

It remains to be seen how the TSA’s more relaxed attitude toward general aviation security would be received in Congress. During hearings on the administration’s nominee for TSA administrator, Maj. Gen (ret.) Robert Harding, Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia), called general aviation the “weak link” in the transportation system, reports the Weekly of Business Aviation (subscribers only). “You go out to Dulles and just walk onto a charter airplane or whatever. You’re not checked, your baggage isn’t checked. You could be anybody. It’s quite remarkable, it’s true all over the country as far as I know,” he said, adding, “It’s very dangerous, and a lot of people use it.” Harding, by the way, withdrew his nomination late Friday amid concerns about contracts his security firm made with the Pentagon in Iraq, reports the Wall Street Journal..