A new Government Accountability Office report has found a number of loopholes, in which it states individuals on the U.S. government's no-fly list could learn to fly in U.S. flight school. The U.S government's no fly list contains U.S. citizens who are banned from flying because they are considered terror threats.
During a hearing on Wednesday examining Homeland Security's programs to screen foreigners who want to attend flight schools in the United states, this security question was raised. While residing here illegally, It was raised that some of the 9-11 hijackers learned how to fly in the U.S.
After 9/11 the TSA created the Alien Flight Student Prrogram which was a process that requires individuals who were non-citizens or permanent residents of the U.S to undergo security threat assessment before being able to attend flight school in the U.S.
The Transportation Security Administration official, Kerwin Wilson, who overseas the flight school screening program said he was unaware whether or not any American on the no-fly list has done flight training in the U.S. in the past ten years.
He said to The Associated Press, "Keep in mind, the way the program is set up, there's layered security in place." He also stated that once someone receives a flight certificate they are screened for terrorism and criminal activity regularly.
However many lawmakers are angered by the loopholes and its potential dangers. "Here is what amazes me ... we have cancer patients, Iraq war veterans, and Nobel Peace Prize winners all forced to undergo rigorous security checks before getting on an airplane ... At the same time, there are foreign nationals in the U.S. training to fly, just like Mohammed Atta and the other 9/11 hijackers did, and not all of them are necessarily getting a security background check," said Committee chairman Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers to U.S. News and World Report.
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