Pilots Face Another Threat to Airspace Access

Starting February 1, owners and operators of aircraft with "questionable registrations and/or no TSA required security measures/waivers" might be denied access to the National Airspace System. The FAA on Friday published a notice reiterating the requirement that aircraft be "properly registered in the interests of national security and aviation safety." On June 23, 2003, the FAA published a notice stating that its aircraft registration system would be augmented to reflect the "observed status of an aircraft's certificate of registration." As of that date, those aircraft records containing information that would render a certificate of registration ineffective were changed to reflect a status of "in question." On May 17 last year, the FAA issued a press release emphasizing the need for aircraft owners to update their aircraft registration so that both the agency and aircraft manufacturers are able to notify owners of safety- and maintenance-related information.