Previously it was reported that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had allowed twenty-five illegals to train at a flight school owned by an illegal alien. Of those twenty-five, six were actually able to get their pilot’s licenses. Now TSA is on the host seat again. Last week one of their officials testified that Americans who are on the no-fly list because they are allegedly linked to terrorism are still permitted by the U.S. government to attend flight school and receive a pilot’s license.
On July 18 in a hearing before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) asked Kerwin Wilson, the general manager for General Aviation at TSA’s Office of Security Policy and Industry Engagement, “Would a U.S. citizen on a no-fly list be able to obtain flight training without undergoing a security threat assessment?”
“Mr. Thompson that is correct, but keep in mind the way the program is set up there is layered security put in place,” Wilson responded. “You’re right, initially a U.S. citizen who is on the no-fly list could commence flight training. But once the individual receives a flight certificate, an FAA certificate, that individual is bounced against various databases as well [and] perpetually vetted, meaning that individual is vetted once a day, once a week.”
The following day, Napolitano appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and was asked about Wilson’s testimony by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA). She claimed that TSA is not aware of all the security measures being taken, but “there are lots of different ways someone on the no-fly list would not be in the position to get a pilot’s license.”
Lungren then asked her, “Yesterday, we had testimony by a TSA representative in another subcommittee about the issue of pilot licensing or pilot lessons and the question of checking people before they are able to do that. And it was brought up by the representative of TSA that currently you do not match the list of those who want to apply for pilot lessons with the no-fly list, and that seemed to be incongruous that on the no-fly list I couldn’t get on a commercial aircraft carrier, an aircraft, but I could in fact go to a pilot training program and not be stopped from doing that because it’s not checked against that list.”
“Mr. Representative, let me take the opportunity to offer a classified briefing to you,” she answered. “The plain fact of the matter is there are lots of different ways someone on the no-fly list would not be in a position to get a pilot’s license. But I think I need to go into classified briefing.”
“Okay, I understand the classified – but the statement was made on the record yesterday that they’re not checked against the no-fly list, period, and that is disturbing if that is the case,” he replied.
Napolitano answered, “The TSA representative may not have been aware of all the other things that occur.”
So wait a second. These are the guys on the front line of alleged “security” and specifically “homeland security” and they are “not aware of all the security precautions” related to these types of things? I’m beginning to think, now more than ever, how much a waste and utter joke the TSA actually is.
In essence, what we are getting from the TSA is a sense that they have absolutely no idea of what they are doing. They are given tremendous resources, money and power and yet they demonstrate such incompetence as to not be able to deal with an issue that is part of the government’s own story as to how 9-11 happened. Not only did the training of illegals for pilot’s licenses take place and was discovered by local police, not the feds, but now TSA is telling us that people on their no-fly list can also obtain pilot’s licenses and theoretically do just what the government alleges happened on 9-11.
With friends like this, who needs enemies?
Video provided by CNS News
Kerwin Wilson responds:
Janet Napolitano responds:
