Government

FAA Loses Track of 119,000 Aircraft

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is missing key information on who owns one-third of the 357,000 private and commercial aircraft in the U.S. – a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists and drug traffickers.

The records are in such disarray that the FAA says it is worried that criminals could buy planes without the government’s knowledge, or use the registration numbers of other aircraft to evade new computer systems designed to track suspicious flights. It has ordered all aircraft owners to re-register their planes in an effort to clean up its files.

About 119,000 of the aircraft on the U.S. registry have “questionable registration” because of missing forms, invalid addresses, unreported sales or other paperwork problems, according to the FAA. In many cases, the FAA cannot say who owns a plane or even whether it is still flying or has been junked.

Already there have been cases of drug traffickers using phony U.S. registration numbers, as well as instances of mistaken identity in which police raided the wrong plane because of faulty record-keeping.

Next year, the FAA will begin canceling the registration certificates of all 357,000 aircraft and require owners to register anew, a move that is causing grumbling among airlines, banks and leasing companies. Notices went out to the first batch of aircraft owners last month.

“We have identified some potential risk areas, but I think we’re trying to eliminate as much risk as possible through the re-registration process,” said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown.

The FAA says security isn’t the only reason it needs an up-to-date registry. Regulators use it to contact owners about safety problems, states rely on it to charge sales tax and some airports employ it to bill for landing fees. Also, rescuers use the database to track down planes that are missing.

But the FAA has emphasized the security and law enforcement angle as the new measure has moved through the rule-making process over the past two years. The agency says the paperwork gap is becoming a bigger problem as authorities increasingly rely on computers to tighten aviation security in the wake of 9/11 and other terrorist plots.

There have already been cases of criminals using U.S. registration numbers, also known as N-numbers or tail numbers, to disguise their airplanes. In 2008, Venezuela authorities seized a twin-engine plane with the registration number N395CA on the fuselage and more than 1,500 pounds of cocaine on board.

Soon afterward, airplane owner Steven Lathrop of Ellensburg, Wash., received a call from a reporter.

“He sort of started the conversation with, `Do you know where your airplane is? … Your airplane’s in a jungle in South America,’” Lathrop said.

Lathrop’s Piper Cheyenne II XL was locked safely in its hangar at the Ellensburg airport. The smugglers had apparently chosen his tail number because the model was similar to their plane.

“Anybody with a roll of duct tape can put any number they want on an airplane,” Lathrop said.

Federal law requires all U.S. aircraft owners to register their planes with the FAA and carry the registration certificate on board. The registration number – all U.S. registrations start with the letter N – is painted on the fuselage or tail. The numbers are used on flight plan forms and by air traffic controllers to communicate with aircraft in flight.

The amount of missing or invalid paperwork has been building for decades, the FAA says. Up to now, owners had to register their planes only once, at the time of purchase. The FAA sent out notices every three years asking owners to update their contact information if needed, but there was no punishment for not doing so. As of 2008, there were 343,000 airplanes on the registry. By 2010, the number had risen to 357,000.

The U.S. registry includes 16,000 aircraft that were sold but never updated with the names of the new owners, and more than 14,000 aircraft that have had their registrations revoked but may still be flying because the FAA has not canceled their N-numbers. Other registrations are outdated because the owners have died or the planes were totaled in crashes. Some planes are simply derelicts corroding in barns or junkyards.

As a result, there is a “large pool” of N-numbers “that can facilitate drug, terrorist or other illegal activities,” the FAA warned in a 2007 report.

The problem became more acute after the government launched a new computer system for tracking flights called the Automatic Detection and Processing Terminal, or ADAPT, the FAA says. The system combines dozens of databases, from a list of stolen aircraft to the names of diplomats. It flags suspicious flights in red on a map.

Unreliable data in the system has led to cases of mistaken identity.

Pilot Pierre Redmond said his Cirrus was searched by Customs and Border Protection agents in fatigues and bulletproof vests last year in Ramona, Calif. They told him his tail number had been confused with that of a wanted plane in Florida.

In August, police in Santa Barbara, Calif., detained flight instructors John and Martha King at gunpoint after federal authorities mistook their Cessna for a plane that was stolen in 2002. The Kings are famous in aviation because they produce and star in a popular series of test-preparation videos for pilots.

The error in the Kings’ case was eventually traced to a law-enforcement database that is cross-referenced with the FAA’s registry, not to the registry itself. But Brown of the FAA called it an example of the real-world consequences of bad recordkeeping.

“It’s very, very scary,” Martha King said. “If this keeps happening to people, somebody’s going to get shot.”

To update the FAA registry, the agency will cancel all aircraft registrations over the next three years. Owners will have three months to re-register. In addition, the FAA will do away with its one-time registration certificate and adopt one that has to be replaced every three years. Those who fail to re-register will lose their certificate, and the plane must be grounded.

“We’re trying to model it more closely on some of the programs that are in effect for automobiles,” Brown said. “With the more regular renewal process, you will capture bad data much more frequently.”

Airlines, leasing companies, charter operators and banks agree there is a problem but have complained about having to repeatedly re-register planes.

The Air Transport Association of America, which represents airlines, warned in 2008 that the measure “had the potential to wreak havoc on the commercial air transportation system.” On Tuesday, ATA spokesman David Castelveter said airlines are still gauging the potential effect of the new rule.

Other groups noted that most of the aircraft with paperwork problems are smaller planes that pose little terrorist threat.

“I don‘t think we’re going to see a tremendous security benefit as a result of this,” said Doug Carr, a vice president of the National Business Aviation Association.

Banks and finance companies that hold loans used to buy planes will be among those hardest hit, said David Warner, general counsel for the National Aircraft Finance Association. A bank’s claim to an aircraft is often tied to the FAA registration, so lenders are having to hire more staff and buy computer systems to track hundreds of aircraft registrations, Warner said.

He said the FAA has exaggerated the danger.

“The threat of people wanting to do us harm is very real, but the focus on re-registration or stale registration data on aircraft is not where the risk is likely to be,” Warner said.

—

Associated Press writer Joan Lowy in Washington contributed to this report.

Comments (92)

1 2 3
  • momsense
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:50am

    Obama wanted his own private army as well equipped as our military; does he also want his own private air force?

    Report Post »  
  • mtnclimberjim
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:50am

    I think I should be moderated on this, don’t you blaze moderators?

    Report Post » mtnclimberjim  
  • LetFreedomLive
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:49am

    That was my thinking Jim in Houston! Lets just put out a huge FLAG free planes this way, get one and run it into another building! “where is the security measures” This all should have been done years ago, they should have been keeping tags and logs of who owns what, and everything. Especially after 9 11….The thing that gets me, and I question there motives, is WHY now! Why are they doing this NOW…It is just for money, and MORE CONTROL! They don’t care about are safety, if they did this would have never happen, thing’s would been in place to prevent this. So NO it isn’t about are safety they could care less….its all a dog and pony show, just like everything else in our government, it is just a joke and game. They are the puppet master and we are the puppets. actually I should say that their are bigger and meaner, and richer folks calling the shots from behind the scenes, and THEY are the real puppet master! Our whole government is a joke and huge joke, I would laugh if it were funny but it isn’t funny anymore. This is pretty serious, HOW can you loose 119,000 planes. Were lucky that they haven‘t been bombing and running into more building’s killing people right and left! It is truly tragic!

    Report Post »  
  • mtnclimberjim
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:49am

    This doesn’t matter, in the scheme of things. The borders are wide open dumb asses.

    Report Post » mtnclimberjim  
  • EyebrowsLaMana
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:47am

    I know! I know! The FAA should just tax us more…that’ll fix it.

    Report Post » EyebrowsLaMana  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:40am

    We really need to ground all planes until we can teach the government employee’s not to watch porn on their computers and they get the registration figured out on all the planes. But I am pretty sure that this in not the only part of government that has been caught with its pants down like Bawney Fwanks.

    Report Post »  
  • IvanK
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:31am

    10 years ago I was the Sr Systems Engineer for the American Airlines Flight Operations Center. I was responsible for all the Server Systems that allowed the AA personel to monitor and track flights. The center at the time used Macintosh Systems. During the time I was there several other airlines “went down” because they were PC based. Our Mac based systems NEVER went down!!! Seems to me, if the Federal government and most large businesses went back to Macs – they would never have to worry about being hacked by the Red Chinese, brought down by viruses, and have entire Armies of PC techs to keep the PC systems running.

    Report Post » IvanK  
  • bullzi
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:31am

    Maybe they’ll find the planes along with the missing russian suit-case nukes.

    Report Post »  
  • Jim in Houston
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:28am

    This is great. Why don‘t we just post this on Al Jazir so the terrorist don’t have to search for it? Why does the government make this public? This should be classified and worked without the world knowing about it, but then what would one expect from the most corrupt and incompetent administration in history?

    Report Post »  
    • LetFreedomLive
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:51am

      I agree with you, that is exactly what I was thinking!

      Report Post »  
    • mom2my2
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 10:30am

      My sentiments exactly. It is not enough that Wikileak is telling the world our business. We have to broadcast it ourselves. Come on, folks. Use a little discretion here.

      Report Post »  
  • ArmyMarine Mom
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:17am

    whooopsie-I thought YOU were watching them. I’m not supposed to keep track of them. Its not MY job to watch them……

    Report Post » ArmyMarine Mom  
  • anigmanm
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:11am

    once again the government provides all the proof a thinking person needs to realize that government is definitely NOT the answer.

    Report Post »  
  • dcwu
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:07am

    Have you got as much government as you want yet?

    Report Post »  
  • hempstead1944
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:05am

    ONLY 119,000….not bad for the FAA……..

    Report Post »  
  • EP46
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:01am

    This along with the TSA is just another ‘step’ in a larger, more controlled take over of all aspects of the airlines ‘for our own safety”. Ray LaHood, obama’s Transportation Sec. is a RHINO. He wants to put a device in your car to ‘disable communication (phones)”…he told people to “stop” driving Toyota’s (the entire Toyota deal was to destroy Toyota and increase General Motors sales), LaHood is pushing the spending of big bucks on Fast Rails….guess that is all coming from China since they are tops on that. Just be aware, each little ‘seed’ is to give more and more power to the government. On this item…get folks worried about planes so the Gov can ‘save’ us. They don’t worry when they screw things up, they just add more people and spend more money. LaHood , as Transportation Sec., is a danger to America.

    Report Post »  
  • Toomanytools
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:58am

    This move by the FAA has nothing to do with security; it’s about revenue. The folks who wrote this article and reporting this are drinking government Koolaid. Think about it: terrorists are far, far more likely to use a car bomb, and just imagine how many cars out there aren’t registered correctly (and a car registration is nothng more than a tax in reality). This is nothing but a grab by the FAA for revenue veiled as a “security” move. What it is is BS.

    Report Post »  
  • Redistributor
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:54am

    Perhaps the information is on those NASA hard drives they got rid of.

    Report Post »  
  • OldFlyGuy
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:36am

    (Re)Registering aircraft will do nothing to prevent someone from using a fake N-number no more than registering cars prevents people from stealing license plates/tags. I believe that this is just another tracking mechanism and perhaps revenue if there is a fee attached which I don’t believe there is but that could change I suppose.

    Report Post »  
    • Docrow
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:05am

      Only the ones not breaking the law follows it.

      Report Post » Docrow  
  • TXPilot
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:34am

    As a pilot and manager of a corporate flight dept., this is just another example of crap oozing downhill. In my profession, the time and cost of complying with a neverending flood of government mandates, paperwork and restrictions is killing my industry. I’m not sure what the unemployment rate for pilots is these days, but I know dozens of other people in my profession, and as of right now, most of them are unemployed and worried how they will feed their families.

    And the really sad part is, that when pilots lose their job, they also soon lapse out of the recency requirements for recurrent training, which further impedes them from finding a job, due to the fact that if you are not employed and flying, it can take literally thousands of dollars to get you current again…….a price many financially stressed employers are not willing to pay and the unemployed can’t afford. As a result, America is permanantly losing many of the best and most experienced pilots that contribute to air travel being as safe as it is….and folks, theres extremely few new pilots coming up through the pipeline to replace them.

    Report Post » TXPilot  
    • HillBillySam1
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:18am

      Are the restrictions and the mandates on the pilots themselves? Why is it that more than 9 years after 9/11 that the government does not have an accurate and detailed account of the AIRCRAFT that is in the U.S.?? With all of the violence and corruption going on in Mexico, and with a continuing terrorist threat to the U.S. mainland, you would think that the Feds would keep track of ALL aircraft. What is to keep the drug-lords and terrorist from smuggling their own pilots across our borders? I am not familiar with the airline industry but doesn’t it make sense to keep track of the planes that could be used as potential weapons of mass destruction? Does our government believe that by punishing legitiment pilots in the U.S. due to over-regulation that this keeps us safe? Terrorists don’t care about regulations….all that they need to know is how to get the plane off of the ground and to it’s target….the landing part is of no concern. Way to go Dept. of Homeland Security….money well spent….

      Report Post »  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:44am

      HILLBILLYSAM1….I wouldn’t even know where to start, to explain about all the rules, regulations, mandates, paperwork, needless expense and overall bullcrap that professional pilots and aircraft owners/operators have to put up with. Get your hands on a copy of the Federal Aviation Regulations and see for yourself. You will quickly figure out that all the rules and policies are mostly composed by uniformed idiots and lawyers….I challenge you to even understand most of it….I’ve been reading the stuff for years and some of it still baffles me. In my industry, some politician that barely knows the pointy end of the aircraft faces into the wind, has a brain fart of an idea…..and next thing anyone knows, we are all having to try to comply with it….nevermind the time, cost or hair pulled out.

      Report Post » TXPilot  
    • HillBillySam1
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 1:44pm

      Am I to understand that the “uninformed idiots” and “lawyers” are one-in-the-same?? That pretty much explains everything…..

      Report Post »  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 2:28pm

      Solid post TXPILOT.

      The cost of even thinking about getting a basic VFR PPL is nearly prohibitive these days for most people. Even non 141 schools are charging from $100 to $150 an hour, plus another $30-is per hour for the instructor. And NOBODY gets the standard VFR PPL on hour 40, most go way over that, so you’re looking at a cost of entry for a basic PPL is what, $5400 to $8,000+?

      Thus, as you notice, there’s not a lot of pilots coming up the ranks now. The golden age of aviation may well be on the skids. The cost of government through unbelievable regulations and mandates has made it nearly impossible for private citizens to get in on it, let alone comply with the evil known as the FAR. I can’t imagine going for even an IFR these days and maintaining a balance in the savings account.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
  • Conserving Ink
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:32am

    I didn’t know there was 119,000 airplanes. That’s pretty bad. Makes you wonder how they keep track of anything in the Federal government.
    ________________________________________________________________________
    http://conserving-ink.blogspot.com/2010/12/30-day-and-half-full-glass.html

    Report Post » Conserving Ink  
    • starman70
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:23am

      Only personal information of their percieved enemies – - – PATRIOTIC AMERICANS!

      Report Post »  
    • ArmyMarine Mom
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:29am

      yes, and they are going to run healthcare? EEEEK!!!

      Report Post » ArmyMarine Mom  
  • SICKANTIRED
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:26am

    And they run amtrak the postal service and on and on…Lol

    Report Post » SICKANTIRED  
    • starman70
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:26am

      Along with the Department of Education (Aimed at improving education in America) and the Energy Department (Aimed at reducing our dependance on foreign oil). Again, LOL!

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 11:22am

      Yes … Obamacare will be just as “good”. Please people stay well.

      Report Post »  
  • Speak without Fear
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:23am

    Really 119,000 airplanes……just go POOF?!

    Don’t look towards Mecca………they are peaceful………ya know. (EYE-ROLL…..DOUBLE EYE-ROLL)

    Report Post »  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:10am

      This re-registration is just a costly and time consuming chore that his being placed upon aircraft owners, as a result of blatant laziness and incompetence by the FAA. When you buy an aircraft, the registration paperwork for that aircraft has to immediately go to the FAA, so they can issue a certificate that allows said aircraft to be flown. You cannot even get the aircraft insured without a valid and current certificate of registration. If they have lost the information on all these aircraft, it is not because owners have not been complying with the law, because we have never had any choice in the matter….Oh, and just in case the FAA doesn’t know, crimminals and terrorists don’t take the time or expense to legally purchase an aircraft for whatever they have planned. On 9/11 the terrorists didn’t own the aircraft that flew into the buildings….they just comandeered them….

      Report Post » TXPilot  
    • TSUNAMI-22
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 2:09pm

      Gubment wants re-registration every three years. Can you say “unnecessary theft through legal BS”.

      Just an excuse to get more money out of your pocket. Pretty soon the same will apply for keeping your flying certificates. As it is right now, the basic pilot rating certification is lifetime independent of currency and review requirements. Eventually that will change in favor of the way the DMV operates.

      All just a legislative attempt to clean out your pockets.

      Report Post »  
    • Workforit
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 3:22pm

      Agreed TXPILOT, Much ado about nothing. Pilots can rent planes too…Well insured planes I might ad.

      Report Post »  
  • handsoffmystuff
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:21am

    The FAA hates private aviation and would shut it all down if they could. This notion helps that cause.

    Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 11:21am

      I am wondering if there isn’t more to this .. perhaps knowing where the planes are — too much “freedom” when you can fly at any time?

      Report Post »  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 12:50pm

      **The FAA hates private aviation and would shut it all down if they could. **

      I’ve heard that before from other people. What is the source of this, if I may ask? It seems to come from too many people to be a case of a disgruntled pilot or sour grapes or whatnot.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
  • GeauxAlready
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:18am

    Thats nothing. Obama has hopefully lost millions of supporters……………

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
  • Tractor
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:17am

    It’s sad we cannot loose the one and only 0bama.

    Report Post »  
  • misteryuck
    Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:16am

    And this is the guvment that wants to take over our healthcare?!?!?!?!?!?

    Report Post » misteryuck  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 8:27am

      A wise man said “the government is the problem”

      Report Post » RepubliCorp  
    • JKN
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:18am

      So many tax-paid Federal Administrations… So much utter incompetence!

      Report Post » Jackers  
    • heavyduty
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 9:41am

      This number that they put up here count all the planes or just U.S. planes?

      Report Post »  
    • @leftfighter
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 10:37am

      Ineptitude on parade.

      Report Post » @leftfighter  
    • snowleopard3200 {mix art}
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 10:44am

      @leftfighter

      This goes beyond ineptitude on parade; it seems to me to fall into the territory of criminal negligence and deliberate falsafication of stats and records.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Polwatcher
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 10:51am

      I can’t wait for the same people to manage our health care. (sarc. off) In fact, these loonies will outright kill a lot of people if they are allowed to proceed with Obamacare.

      Report Post »  
    • MsMonsoon
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 12:02pm

      What the HELL are we paying for? The pentagon loosing laptops. The FBI loosing laptops and fire arms. Low level military accessing and leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents. $1.1 billion in 100 dollar bills misprinted. And on, and on, and on, our taxes support this outrageous incompetence.

      I’m sick of it!

      Report Post » MsMonsoon  
    • jds7171
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 3:09pm

      I can’t wait untill they are responsible for my helath care and responsible for making sure I get paid. It is going to be a blast.

      Report Post »  
    • pajamash
      Posted on December 10, 2010 at 7:12pm

      Epic Fail!!!!!

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      Report Post »  
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