The Transportation Security Administration, publishing formal notification in today’s Federal Register about the withdrawal of the proposed large aircraft security program (LASP), said the move follows a review of the nearly 7,000 public comments on the controversial program, as well as a reevaluation in light of the trend toward risk-based principles.

In January, the TSA officially shelved the program a decade after proposing the LASP rulemaking in October 2008. The LASP proposal would have established security standards for private larger aircraft operations similar to those of commercial operations, including requirements for crew vetting, passenger watchlists, and security programs.

While believing the proposal would increase security and accountability, the agency estimated the proposal would result in costs of $1.4 billion over a 10-year period to operators, passengers, and the agency itself. In addition to the thousands of comments, the TSA received substantial input from numerous public meetings.

While some aspects of the proposal drew support, “The overwhelming majority of commenters objected to it, based on their views that it increased costs unnecessarily, created burdensome new processes, and would lead small airport and aircraft operators to go out of business, causing widespread loss of employment,” the agency conceded, adding that commenters questioned the need for the program.

The TSA subsequently considered a supplemental proposal, as well as the possibility of carving out some of the requirements into stand-alone rules. But given the adoption of risk-based principals, the comments, the relative costs, and other agency mandates, the agency said it decided to just shelve the rulemaking. The withdrawal also falls under a White House deregulation initiative, the agency added.