The FAA register has been in disarray for decades. Not only are there hundreds of scrapped or written-off planes still ‘registered’, much of the information about those that do still exist is missing or wrong. Not just the ownership but things like serial numbers, engine types etc.
I think it’s good that the FAA is finally trying to clean it up, but to portray it as a terrorist threat is pathetically specious.
“Anybody with a roll of duct tape can put any number they want on an airplane,”
I think seek1voice said it well in the comments section of the article:
How will new registration stop someone from taping any N-number on the tail? Answer: It will not! It will not solve misidentification or improve safety, but it will cost us money to jump through their hoops. This is yet another case of government harassing people!
I do agree that the FAA registry is really screwed up. Wouldn’t it just be better to send out letters telling owners to confirm their aircraft. If they don’t reply then the aircraft is deregistered.