Democrat wants to bring back aviation safety committee

The ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee filed legislation late last week that would reestablish a panel dedicated to airplane safety.

The bill from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) would bring back the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel that was created after the 1988 bombing of a jetliner in Lockerbie, Scotland.

The panel was housed on the Transportation Security Administration Committee that was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Thompson said, but it has not met regularly in years and its charter has expired.

Thompson said recent terror plots involving airlines show the need for the committee.

“The plot to ship explosives via passenger and cargo aircraft originating from Yemen last year made it clear that the threat to aviation continues to be very real and of an evolving nature," he said in a written statement. "This legislation ensures that TSA is hearing from all those involved in aviation security in order to foster more cooperation and better policies.”

The bill, H.R. 1447, is titled the "Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2011.”