The Homeland Security Department today will announce new aviation-security rules aimed at preventing terrorists from using private airplanes to sneak into the USA.
On the eve of the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the lack of tighter security for private planes as a major gap. He said his department is "working to plug that threat."
The new Homeland Security rules require private pilots coming from overseas to give the United States the names, birth dates and other information about passengers one hour before takeoff.
Pilots must provide the information now, but not until they are close to landing. The new rule, which follows a similar one set to take effect for commercial planes in February, will give Customs agents time to check names against terrorist watch lists before flights take off on their way to the USA.
The focus on private planes follows six years of efforts to tighten security for commercial airliners. That effort has included putting air marshals on flights, hardening cockpit doors, and screening passengers and bags for explosives.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said there is "no information indicating a specific or imminent threat" from private planes.
But security experts have warned for years that more should be done to screen private passengers. "The most likely way a weapon of mass destruction will come into the U.S. is on a private plane," said homeland security expert Randall Larsen.
Planes coming from overseas are now required to land at airports in the USA where Customs officials can search them and screen passengers. Chertoff said his hope is to someday have a system to physically screen passengers overseas before they board.
Andy Cebula of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said he has no problem with pilots providing the names. But he objected to rules by Homeland Security that require the names be sent electronically to the United States so they can be checked. Some foreign airports don't have the capability to transmit the electronic information, Cebula said.
Contributing: Alan Levin Revised regulations at a glance
The new rules:
*Affect roughly 400 private planes that land in the USA each day.
*Apply to U.S.- and foreign-based aircraft.
*Require pilots to give Customs passengers' and crews' passport information, including names and dates of birth.
*Take effect in mid-to-late 2008.
