The United States refused to let five foreign pilots fly into U.S. airspace after security checks showed they could pose a risk to the country, a senior Homeland Security official said on Tuesday. Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security, said the department had recently expanded the scope of its checks on 6,000 foreign pilots who are required to pass security clearances before being allowed to fly into the country. “We have directed additional checks through the FBI’s Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force and other agencies. As a result … we did have five foreign pilots that were denied permission to enter U.S. airspace because of security concerns,” Hutchinson told reporters. He did not identify the nationalities of the five pilots. A Homeland Security official said they all worked for non-U.S. commercial airlines but would not give any more details. Hutchinson said after the Sept. 11 hijacked airline attacks the Department of Transportation required foreign air crew to submit their names in advance of trips to the United States. Full Story
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