subject: Flight Training Institutions Remain Ready At All Times Because Of The 9-11 Legacy. [print this page] Due to the ease with which the 9/11 hijackers gained entry on to American civil flight schools government screening of foreign students has been stepped up meaning that, ten years after the 9/11 attacks, foreign students find it hard to gain access to these same flight training institutions.
The most labor intensive background checks don't actually apply to every student and teacher, so schools need to be wary of any possible terrorists.
Before the attacks on the Twin Towers, the number and name of the FBI agent closest to me would not have been close at hand. I wouldn't have done that 10 years ago, but after the events of 9/11/2001, everything changed. This was said by Patrick Murphy, the director of training for Sunrise Aviation Flight Training located near Ormond Beach, Florida
Hundreds of United States flight training institutions compete for students. There's still an advertising pitch that says Florida is the place for this flight training because the weather allows frequent flying so the program can be completed more quickly. This is what the hijackers that carried out the attacks on the Twin Towers were looking for.
3 of the 9/11 hijackers were in Florida flight training institutions. before the bombing: a reason for Florida flight training institutions to be careful. The leader, Mohamed Atta, as well as Marwan al Shehhi were students of a Florida flight training institution's program, Ziad Jarrah was part of a different, flight school located in the same area.
Although, terrorists perform poorly,they still managed to receive their licenses and/or certifications.
The U.S. investigators found that Atta and Shehhi took solo flights and passed their pilot tests. At another school where they signed up later, the training instructor flagged the two for their abrasiveness and aggression, noting that they sometimes tried to seize the controls during training flights. They did not pass the examination on their rating of instruments. Unbothered and not distracted, they went back to Huffman. At the same time, Jarrah attained a private pilot license for single-engined planes.
In just three months, Hani Hanjour was awarded a private pilot license from his Arizona instruction. After several months of training you are awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration a commercial pilot certificate. He began training on a simulator for the Boeing 737 by the beginning of 2001. The commission determined that he had completed training about 22 weeks before the attacks, despite his instructor having encouraged him to drop out because of his inadequate performance.
Presently, it would be much harder for the men to be accepted in the U.S.
Foreign students seeking flight training in the US have a stricter visa process. They are unable to start without the approval of the TSA. Air travel security uses a background check with the FBI"s assistance, to run their name against terrorist watch lists. Inspectors working for the TSA go to check up on FAA flight schools at a minimum of one time per year to determine if all students have the correct identification that is of their true identity.
Additionally, TSA shares intelligence with other agencies. Their multiple layers of security are capable of detecting illegal infiltration when other agencies have failed, even in cases in which flight training was obtained in the U.S.
In any case, the improved procedures in flight schools are not similar or secure. There happens to be a large number of flight teachers who have access to planes and simulators as well that are not always checked upon by the TSA every year and are only subject to inspections at random.
The FAA keeps a database of the names of student pilots and this is accessible by the TSA.
