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Off the Radar: Private Planes Hidden From Public View
From 2010.
Off the Radar: Private Planes Hidden From Public View
by Michael Grabell and Sebastian Jones
ProPublica, April 8, 2010, 10:12 p.m.
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland faced a congressional inquiry after flying his ministry’s tax-exempt jet to Maui and the Fiji Islands. ... South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds has been questioned about his use of state planes for political and personal trips. ... And after getting a $180 billion federal bailout, the insurance giant AIG caught flak for its fleet of corporate jets.
To prevent the public from seeing where they fly, all have over the years turned to a little-known program that lets private plane owners block their flights from view in the government’s system for tracking air traffic. ... The owners don’t have to meet any test to keep their flights secret. They merely submit a request to the National Business Aviation Association, a trade group that lobbied to set up the program on the grounds that secrecy is justified to protect business deals and the security of executives.
But in at least some cases, the program has also served as a refuge for plane owners who’ve faced bad publicity, according to a review by ProPublica of 1,100 blocked planes in the program. The list was obtained after a 15-month public records battle in which the business aviation group sued the FAA to keep it confidential. ... After a federal judge ruled that the records are public, the FAA provided the list this week.
....
How the list came to be
Use of the national airspace is generally considered public information because pilots – whether airline captains or recreational fliers – rely on a system of air traffic controllers, radars, runways and taxiways, lighting systems and towers that are all paid for or subsidized by taxpayers. ... As a result, flight data collected by the FAA in its air traffic control system – except for military and sensitive government flights – is public information. Web sites such as FlightAware post the data online, allowing anyone to observe the system and follow most planes virtually in real time.
ProPublica, April 8, 2010, 10:12 p.m.
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland faced a congressional inquiry after flying his ministry’s tax-exempt jet to Maui and the Fiji Islands. ... South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds has been questioned about his use of state planes for political and personal trips. ... And after getting a $180 billion federal bailout, the insurance giant AIG caught flak for its fleet of corporate jets.
To prevent the public from seeing where they fly, all have over the years turned to a little-known program that lets private plane owners block their flights from view in the government’s system for tracking air traffic. ... The owners don’t have to meet any test to keep their flights secret. They merely submit a request to the National Business Aviation Association, a trade group that lobbied to set up the program on the grounds that secrecy is justified to protect business deals and the security of executives.
But in at least some cases, the program has also served as a refuge for plane owners who’ve faced bad publicity, according to a review by ProPublica of 1,100 blocked planes in the program. The list was obtained after a 15-month public records battle in which the business aviation group sued the FAA to keep it confidential. ... After a federal judge ruled that the records are public, the FAA provided the list this week.
....
How the list came to be
Use of the national airspace is generally considered public information because pilots – whether airline captains or recreational fliers – rely on a system of air traffic controllers, radars, runways and taxiways, lighting systems and towers that are all paid for or subsidized by taxpayers. ... As a result, flight data collected by the FAA in its air traffic control system – except for military and sensitive government flights – is public information. Web sites such as FlightAware post the data online, allowing anyone to observe the system and follow most planes virtually in real time.
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