Access to Aeronautical Charts and Data by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

In November, 2004 the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) announced its intention to withdraw essentially all of its aeronautical chart and related digital data publications from public distribution. Citing multiple concerns (potential use by terrorists, potential threats to the integrity of its own data, and commercial/copyright issues), NGA's proposed withdrawal would have removed huge volumes of traditionally open data from public access and established ominous precedents in the post-9/11 environment. Map libraries of all kinds would have been affected correspondingly. The paper seeks to explore each stated rationale by NGA, and also seeks to explain all NGA product series, including some rather arcane digital products, that were at stake for withdrawal.