Chicago Mayor Richard Daley once again is calling
for a ban on general aviation, abusing the tragic NYC accident
in an attempt to try to justify his illegal actions in closing
Meigs Field. |
Enough is enough
BY PHIL BOYER, PRESIDENT,
AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION
Mayor Daley's latest rants have
sent me over the edge. He used the accident in New York to once
again demand a no-fly zone over downtown Chicago for general
aviation aircraft.
It was expected, of course. He
has an irrational hatred for piston-engine aircraft, as
evidenced by his illogical tirade this week. "They should not
jeopardize, through intentionally or by accident, a single- or
two-engine plane flying over our city [sic]," the Meigs Field
destroyer exploded at a press conference. (I don't think he was
including Boeing 737s, 757s, and 767s in his list of twin-engine
aircraft.) "Remember: a single- or two-engine plane can kill as
many people as possible if they want to."
And if it were just Daley, I'd
ignore his ravings, just as the folks in the federal government
in charge of security and airspace do.
But it's not just him. Other
politicians (with the spectacular and notable exception of New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg) and self-appointed "experts"
are jumping on the tragic accident — repeat, accident — in New
York to sound off again about the "danger" of light aircraft,
and how they must be regulated, restricted, banned.
OK, for all of those ranting
about "threats" from GA aircraft, we'll believe that you're
really serious about controlling "threats" when you call for:
 | Banning all vans within
cities. A small panel van was used in the first World Trade
Center attack. The bomb, which weighed 1,500 pounds, killed
six and injured 1,042. |
| Banning all box trucks from
cities. Timothy McVeigh's rented Ryder truck carried a
5,000-pound bomb that killed 168 in Oklahoma City.
|
| Banning all semi-trailer
trucks. They can carry bombs weighing more than 50,000 pounds.
|
| Banning newspapers on subways.
That's how the terrorists hid packages of sarin nerve gas in
the Tokyo subway system. They killed 12. |
| Banning backpacks on all buses
and subways. That's how the terrorists got the bombs into the
London subway system. They killed 52. |
| Banning all cell phones on
trains. That's how they detonated the bombs in backpacks
placed on commuter trains in Madrid. They killed 191.
|
| Banning all small pleasure
boats on public waterways. That's how terrorists attacked the
USS Cole, killing 17. |
| Banning all heavy or bulky
clothing in all public places. That's how suicide bombers hide
their murderous charges. Thousands killed. |
Number of people killed by a
terrorist attack using a GA aircraft? Zero.
Number of people injured by a
terrorist attack using a GA aircraft? Zero.
Property damage from a terrorist
attack using a GA aircraft? None.
So Mr. Mayor (and Mr. Governor,
Ms. Senator, Mr. Congressman, and Mr. "Expert"), if you're truly
serious about "protecting" the public, advocate all of the bans
I've listed above. Using the "logic" you apply to general
aviation aircraft, you're forced to conclude that newspapers,
winter coats, cell phones, backpacks, trucks, and boats all pose
much greater risks to the public.
So be consistent in your logic.
If you are dead set on restricting a personal transportation
system that carries more passengers than any single airline,
reaches more American cities than all the airlines combined,
provides employment for 1.3 million American citizens and $160
billion in business "to protect the public," then restrict or
control every other transportation system that the terrorists
have demonstrated they can use to kill.
If you're not willing to be
consistent, then we might think that you're pandering to
uninformed public fears, posturing from the soapbox of
demagoguery, screaming security for your own political ends.
AOPA article:
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2006/061013enough.html
|
