TSA wants security checks on private jets

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has proposed background checks for travelers who fly on private corporate jets.

The TSA wants security requirements on roughly 15,000 corporate jets and 314 small airports that presently have none, USA Today said Friday.

Hundreds of thousands of people fly on such jets each year and private plane owners and pilots characterize the plan as an unprecedented intrusion into private flying.

But, the TSA said in its 260-page proposal that private jets "could be used effectively to commit a terrorist act."