AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014 - 4

PRESIDENT'S POSITION

More than we asked for

MARK BAKER
AOPA President and CEO

Why is GA a target?
IT'S NOT TOO OFTEN that you get more than you ask for.
But right now the whole general aviation community
is getting more than we've asked for-or want-when
it comes to government interference. Specifically, I'm
talking about the monitoring, stops, and searches of general aviation pilots and aircraft without probable cause
or reasonable suspicion of illegal activity.
It's hard not to feel just a little bit persecuted when
Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) personnel and law enforcement agencies are stopping GA pilots with impunity,
even when the agencies can't seem to explain why.
Not too long ago we heard from two people who got
the scare of their lives after one of them had made a routine GA flight from Colorado to the Chicago area. They

We are far more closely scrutinized than boat
operators, motorhome drivers, and others
engaged in recreational transportation.

AOPA PRESIDENT

Mark Baker has
been flying for
more than 35 years
and has more than
7,500 flight hours.

4 | AOPA PILOT March 2014

were driving away from the field when a dark SUV raced
up behind them, tailgating so closely they feared they'd
be hit. They soon realized the SUV was a law enforcement vehicle, so when the lights went on, the couple
pulled over to the side of the highway.
That's when they were approached by officers with
guns drawn, who indicated the couple should get out
of the vehicle. The pair complied and, feeling intimidated and knowing they had nothing to hide, agreed
to a warrantless search of their vehicle. Forty minutes
later, they were allowed to leave. No evidence of illegal
activity was found.
In all, some 25 vehicles and 40 law enforcement personnel were involved in the stop, and the only reason
they gave for this massive (mis)use of resources was that
the flight had been tagged as suspicious.
I find this more than a little disturbing. And for
the law-abiding folks who lived through it, it had to be
downright terrifying.
When we first started getting reports like these, it
seemed that some overzealous CBP agents might be to
blame. But the problem just keeps growing, with incidents all across the country and multiple DHS agencies
involved-so we can't put it down to a few rogue agents.

On the face of it, the whole thing seems so outlandish that when we first started telling friends in Congress
about these incidents, they had a hard time believing
what we were saying. After all, Fourth Amendment protections from unlawful search and seizure are absolutely
fundamental to our principles as a country. It's hard to
imagine a whole agency-or worse, multiple agencies-
systematically violating those protections. But as the
reports kept coming in and we were able to verify the
details, Congress started taking notice.
Incidents like this one can't go unchallenged, and
we're using every means at our disposal to make sure
they stop.
Since we last provided an update in AOPA Pilot,
we've filed new Freedom of Information Act requests
to get more details about recent stops and directed
new complaints to the heads of agencies involved (see
"Fighting for Your Freedom," February 2014 AOPA
Pilot). But this has gone way too far to be dealt with
on an ad-hoc basis, so we're planning to take our concerns to the very highest levels within DHS. We're also
looking to general aviation supporters in Congress, asking the FAA to weigh in, and considering other options.
In the meantime, the various DHS agencies continue
to insist that FAA regulations and statutes give them the
right to make these stops. But the FAA has made it clear
that it has not asked DHS or anyone else to help them
enforce the regs. That means the law enforcement agencies making the stops need to have the authority to act
in the first place-and nothing in the FARs gives them
that authority.
Right now, GA seems to be singled out for this kind
of treatment. We are far more closely scrutinized than
boat operators, motorhome drivers, and others engaged
in recreational transportation. It begs the questions why
and who's next? Will boaters have to worry about being
stopped and boarded just because they're out enjoying
the sunshine? Will drivers be pulled over and searched
because their route is "suspicious"?
GA is a small community, and that can make it seem
like we're an easy target. But we won't stand by while
we're targeted for unjust treatment by the very people
charged with defending our country and the freedoms
that make it great. Stay tuned. This isn't over, not by a
long shot.
AOPA
EMAIL mark@aopa.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2014

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