Ten years after 9/11, government screening has made more difficult for non-American students to enroll in civilian flight training institutions because America being an inviting place place to learn to fly fast.
Schools and trainers need to be especially alert regarding the weeding out of would-be terrorists because the most rigorous checks don't apply to all students and instructors.
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. Says Patrick Murphy, who currently holds the position as the director of training at
Sunrise Aviation Flight School in Ormond Beach, Florida
100's of US flight training institutions contend for students. Students fly quicker and more frequently in Florida and the this is pitched by many flight schools. The 9/11 hijackers were seeking this out.
3 of the 9/11 hijackers were in Florida flight institutions The hijacking perpetrators were Mohamed Atta, Marwan al Shehhi, and Ziad Jarrah who all took pilot training in Florida flight training institutions.
The terrorists were able to get licenses and certifications in spite of the fact they were often rowdy and gave poor performances.
The United States 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. An instruments rating exam could not be cleared. They went straight back to Huffman with no reservations. At the same time, Jarrah attained a private pilot license for single-engined planes.
Hani Hanjour studied in Arizona for his private license to pilot a plane and got it within three months. The Federal Aviation Administration granted them a pilot's licence after a few more months of training. He began his practice with a Boeing 737 flight simulator in the early months 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.
Entering these days would not be easy for the men in a United States flight institutions.
Foreign students seeking flight training in the US have a stricter visa process. The TSA started after September. Those who travel by air have their names checked to see if they are on the watch list for terrorists and they may also have their fingerprint scanned. 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.
The new admissions measures for flight school are not consistent and fool-proof. If they are only training a few flight instructors who still have simulators and planes available to them, will be free from yearly TSA agent visits and only get random visits from time to time.
The TSA has access to the database of all student pilots that are maintained by the FAA.
