Sunday, October 02, 2011

Security First: County considers background checks on hangar tenants. Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport (KPIL) Port Isabel, Texas.



 
Cameron County officials might soon require background checks on all individuals who want to lease hangars at the Cameron County-Port Isabel Airport. Several new T-hangars—which can store small airplanes or other vehicles—are for lease at the facility. 
Photo by Brad Doherty, The Brownsville Herald.


BAYVIEW — Cameron County is considering doing background checks on people wanting to lease one of the new T-hangars at the Cameron County–Port Isabel Airport.

Although the Commissioners Court Legal Division is reviewing the issue to ensure the county would not be infringing on the privacy of the individuals, county leaders do not believe there will be any problems.

"We want to know who is flying into our airport. … We don’t want people who are using it to land contraband or illegal drugs. I think it is a good idea," Cameron County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said.

"You don’t want somebody landing there that is a potential threat to public safety. I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to do it on any county property," Cascos said.

Several new T- hangars are for lease, and people interested in leasing generally want to store a small airplane or other vehicles, said Precinct 3 Commissioner David Garza.

"If you want a secure place for your aircraft, you lease one of these hangars," Garza said.

County leaders want those individuals interested in leasing the hangars to undergo a background check before they are allowed to store property at the airport.

"We want to make sure that we are not going to have any illicit operations going on and one way to deter that is to have background checks on the individuals leasing (those spaces) from the county," Garza said.

Officials hope to have a decision on the background checks within the next 30 days.

Garza said officials got the idea from a similar practice at South Texas International Airport in Edinburg.

South Padre Island pilot George Woll has been storing his small airplane at another old hangar at the county airport. He’s been waiting for the seven units in the new T-hangar to open so he can lease a space from there.

Woll said he believes the background checks are "overkill" considering pilots already go through a number of other checks before they are even issued a pilot’s license. However, he said he does not have a problem undergoing a background check in order to store his aircraft at the new county hangar.

The Department of Homeland Security and FBI recently alerted small airports to be aware of terrorists interested in smaller airplanes and general aviation. Some suggest smaller airports are easier to access compared to larger airports that have the resources to provide higher security.

Garza said the Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport is a "destination airport" mostly used by people traveling to the area to vacation at South Padre Island. They fly to the airport, store their airplane in the hangar and then head out to the Island.

"Most people that have planes and use the hangars and want to use storage facilities, they absolutely do not have problems eliminating unwanted operations where they are storing their high-price-dollar airplanes," Garza said.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com

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