In the 99-year history of powered flight it would be hard to pick the worst year, but these past 12 months are near the top of every pilot’s list. Frustrated is the word that sums up the way most of us feel.
Though much of aviation has returned to near normal, a cloud of suspicion hangs over airplanes and the people who fly them. The fact that a relatively small number of machines, and the tiny group of people who fly them, would become the focus of thousands of new federal government employees spending billions of dollars is amazing. Mention terrorism, or its flip side, security, and instantly a picture of an airplane and airport flashes onto television, and thus leaps into most people’s minds.
