NCJ Number
136191
Journal
Journal of Air Law and Commerce Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1991) Pages: 999-1025
Date Published
1991
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the following two areas in which Congress has enlisted the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the war on drugs: the registration of aircraft and the certification of pilots.
Abstract
In these areas, Congress has enacted the Aviation Drug-Trafficking Control Act (1984 Drug Act) and the Federal Aviation Administration Drug Enforcement Assistance Act of 1988 (1988 Drug Act). In its examination of the FAA's role in countering aviation drug trafficking, this article first reviews the 1984 Act and then addresses FAA actions taken against drug-smuggling pilots from 1984 to 1988. A review of the 1988 Drug Act focuses on its effect on aircraft registration, air personnel certification, and law enforcement activity. The discussion then considers the FAA's implementation of the 1988 Drug Act and summarizes the impact both acts have had on drug smuggling and the FAA's remedial efforts to implement the acts. The article concludes that the 1984 and 1988 Drug Acts, if properly implemented, will make it more difficult and costly for drug traffickers to continue using general aviation aircraft in their operations. 138 footnotes