The Federal Aviation Administration said it is missing registration records for one-third of the private and commercial aircraft in the United States, identifying a security gap which the agency fears, could be exploited.
FAA said it is concerned that terrorists or drug traffickers could purchase planes, or use the registration numbers of other aircraft without the government's knowledge, in order to evade computer tracking systems intended to identify suspicious flights.
"There are so many opportunities for either hijacking, renting or owning an aircraft that could be used to fly into a chemical plant, or a nuclear facility or an iconic building," former 9/11 Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste said.
About 119,000 of the 357,000 aircraft in the U.S. registry have "questionable registration," according to the FAA, because of paperwork problems including invalid addresses or missing forms.
