TSA suspends flights at local airfield

Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) suspended flights at Potomac Airfield in Fort Washington, saying it was not in compliance with security guidelines.

‘‘The Potomac Airfield is one of the three airports in close proximity to the nation’s capital,” said Darrin Kayser, spokesperson for TSA, adding that the airport had received a warning that it has violated security guidelines set forth by the administration.

‘‘After this weekend, we did a sport check,” Kayser said, adding that TSA then found that certain requirements were not met. He would not reveal what the specific violations were.

Potomac Airfield, along with College Park Airport and Washington Executive⁄Hyde field, is part of the airport group known as the ‘‘Maryland Three,” which are general aviation airports located within the federal government’s Flight Restricted Zone, according to TSA’s Web site.

Kayser said the administration would ‘‘work with” Potomac Airfield to address security violations, noting that the issue was confined to that location. ‘‘We have not had this problem with other airports,” he said.

One of Potomac Airfield’s owners, David Wartofsky, said the airfield already had adequate and private security measures in place. He said he would not elaborate on what those measures included because it was not public information.

He said the airfield had been ‘‘going back and forth on fundamental issues” for some time before the recent suspension of flights, adding that all pilots operating out of the airfield have security clearances.

Brenton Miller of Fort Washington has taken pilot lessons and said he knows from personal experience that security guidelines for pilots are stringent.

‘‘I feel safe,” he said, referring to the Fort Washington location of the airfield. He said it was ‘‘unfortunate” that the local airfield’s private security measures were in conflict with federal guidelines. ‘‘I would rather that the airfields stay open and be prosperous,” he said, adding he would understand why the airfield closed if security conflicts existed.

Wartofsky said he did not know how long flights would be suspended. ‘‘We’re a tiny little thing,” he said of the airfield, adding that aircrafts using the space are small in size.

‘‘This is going to be an educational process for TSA,” he said, adding that some pilots who had been flying out of the airfield are angry about the suspension of flights and are encouraging him to continue through the process to resolve the issue.

E-mail Leslie Quander Wooldridge at lwooldridge@gazette.net.