Making good on testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee in December, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has ordered the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to back off from tougher security rules for general aviation that were first proposed in October 2008. As reported by National Public Radio (NPR) last Friday, TSA general aviation manager Brian Delauter said the agency now plans to collaborate more with industry on security. He told NPR that his agency will substantially increase the weight of airplanes covered by a revised security plan coming out this fall. In early December, Call RRSNapolitano testified that the
Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) would undergo more massaging before it is released as a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking “before the end of 2010.” The controversial LASP was greeted with frustration and ridicule when it was released in October 2008. Under that plan, all operators of Part 91 aircraft with an mtow of more than 12,500 pounds would be required to create a TSA-approved security program, put all flight crew through FBI criminal-history background checks, compare all passengers against the TSA’s watch lists and impose new restrictions on carriage of certain items in the cabin.