Gunpoint Detainment Prompts NBAA Call for Aircraft Registration Data Review

Contacts:
Dan Hubbard, (202) 783-9360, dhubbard@nbaa.org
Patrick Dunne, (202) 783-9263, pdunne@nbaa.org

Washington, DC, August 30, 2010 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today responded to yesterday’s reported gunpoint detainment of two industry figures by calling for a review of the government’s process for obtaining, using and sharing aircraft registration information.

King School founders John and Martha King were reportedly detained by the Santa Barbara police last evening, based on faulty aircraft information maintained by various government agencies. The Kings are two well-known and highly respected professionals within the general aviation community, and the school they founded is a Member Company with the Association. 

“We believe there is an urgent need for the creation of a joint government-industry group that can expeditiously conduct a top-to-bottom review of the process to ensure that incidents such as this one never occur in the future,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.

“We recognize that law enforcement officials need to have a reliable source of up-to-date aircraft information to prevent illegal activities,” Bolen continued.  “At the same time, we believe the government process for using the data appears woefully inadequate. This isn’t the first time outdated information has resulted in a situation like the one involving the Kings, but we want it to be the last. We’re asking government leaders to look at this unfortunate event as an opportunity for industry and government to collaborate on a solution that will prevent similar incidents in the future.”

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Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 8,000 companies and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, the world’s largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org.

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