SAN MARTIN
– South County Airport is asking the pilots who use the airfield
to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity after the federal
government began urging small airports across the country to do
just that.
SAN MARTIN – South County Airport is asking the pilots who use the airfield to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity after the federal government began urging small airports across the country to do just that.
The Transportation Security Administration, in conjunction with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, mailed out brochures to 200,000 pilots and the association’s 4,000 members about the Airport Watch Program, reminding people to report suspicious activity by calling a national hotline (1-866-427-3287).
One of the pilots receiving one of those brochures was Don Murphy, an AOPA volunteer at South County Airport.
“It just raises awareness,” Murphy said of the brochures. “If you see someone on a ramp that doesn’t belong there, confront them or talk to 2 Genes (Aviation, which operates out of South County Airport).”
Murphy said he has spread the information from the brochure out to other pilots who use the airport.
“Absolutely, the Pilot’s Association has discussed it,” he said. “Everybody is aware of it.”
Included in the brochure are instructions on what to look out for, including unusual cargo and people who act like pilots but don’t use the right words when talking about flying. The association also will be sending out videos and posters, but they have not yet arrived at South County Airport.
Murphy said that it is important for pilots to take on the responsibility of watching out at small airports because there are few airport workers. He said South County Airport is a perfect example of this.
“It’s a non-towered airport,” he said. “It’s up to the pilots to kind of watch.”
While South County Airport doesn’t have high security, it isn’t a real terrorist target. The airfield doesn’t have any crop-dusting planes, which officials worry could be used for spreading harmful biological chemicals. The airport also stores small planes, which pose little threat.
“It’s not a weapon you’re going to fly into something,” Murphy said.
Murphy also said 2 Genes Aviation would continue to be careful about flight training, something that has been scrutinized since Sept. 11, 2001, when it was found that terrorists learned to fly the planes at small aviation centers within the United States.
“For a person who comes in and wants to rent an aircraft, there’s checks and balances,” Murphy said of the precautions taken. “A lot of people don’t realize that not just anybody can come in here and rent out a plane.”
