Flight School Security Awareness Training for Aircraft and Simulators
October 26, 2004
Actions
Security is everyone’s responsibility. In today’s
world, it is better to question a situation than to wait for
someone else to respond.
The following information will describe general accommodations
and actions you can take to keep your facility more secure.
This topic will also discuss reporting methods you should
follow if you feel an action is suspicious.
There are some general accommodations you can make to help
keep your facility more secure:
Know your customers and business associates.
Be aware of your surroundings and the activities of your
students and customers.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Make no assumptions about who may or may not pose a threat.
There are also some general actions you can take to help
keep your facility more secure:
Report suspicious circumstances or unusual activity.
Display proper identification, if required at your facility.
Use proper entrances and exits.
There are four primary reporting methods:
Question the individual.
Report the suspicious activity to a supervisor or other
facility manager.
Contact local law enforcement.
Contact the General Aviation (GA) hotline or Transportation
Security Operations Center (TSOC) at (703) 563-3240.
NOTE: The GA Hotline or Transportation Security Operations
Center (TSOC) is a 24/7 operation staffed by TSA personnel
who will document the reported item, collect your personal
contact numbers and pass all of the information on to the
appropriate regulatory office within the TSA. Your report
will receive immediate attention by the agency to determine
the severity of the action and the next steps to resolve
the issue. This report will be followed up by an Aviation
Security Inspector either in person or via telecom.
The reporting method you use depends on the level of suspicion
and potential danger from the situation. Generally speaking,
there is usually an initial contact you should make relative
to the seriousness of the suspicious activity or event.
Follow-on reporting activities after the initial report
of the event may include a combination of reporting methods.
Questioning an individual:
Helps you to gain more information.
Determines if other forms of reporting are necessary. In
some cases, behavior appearing suspicious is benign. In other
situations, you may not be sure how suspicious the activity
is until you talk to the person.
NOTE: Only question an individual if there appears to be
no danger to yourself or other people. When should you question
an individual?
This is a judgment call.
Pay attention to your gut feeling.
If you do not feel comfortable confronting the person,
contact your supervisor or fellow employee.
When you question an individual:
Introduce yourself to avoid the appearance of confrontation.
Ask them to identify themselves - be insistent.
Ask why they are in the area and what their purpose is
in the area.
During the questioning:
Greet the individual, introduce yourself.
Ask them for their name.
Ask them for identification - especially if in restricted
areas.
Ask them their purpose for being there.
Ask if you can be of help or provide assistance.
Most importantly, know when to end the conversation if you
feel uncomfortable. At this point, engage your supervisor.
If the situation warrants, contact local law enforcement.
Never jeopardize your safety or the safety of others.
Whenever any reporting is required, your supervisor should
be informed. In some cases, it is only your supervisor who
should be informed while in other situations, there may
be follow-on actions required resulting in a combination
of reporting methods to various activities.
The GA hotline or TSOC (703-563-3240) is available for
reporting any suspicious activity. A call results in a record
of the incident and as necessary an appropriate response.
This is the most appropriate reporting mechanism for flight
schools to document suspicious behavior or situations. This
provides for a means of tracking trends or attempts to use
aviation assets in unlawful activities. If you believe the
event is of more significant nature you may want to consider
contacting the GA Hotline or TSOC.
Situations posing an immediate threat to someone’s
safety should immediately be reported to local law enforcement,
i.e., dialing 911.
If you feel an action is suspicious you should:
Contact the appropriate level of authority.
As applicable, contact your supervisor or other manager
and brief them on the
situation.
Not discuss the situation with anyone other than authorized
personnel.
Report factual information – provide as many details
as you can remember.
Be prepared to answer additional questions by company personnel,
law enforcement officials, or investigating officials.
This completes the topic on Actions.
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