MSU athletics officials’ efforts to renew a ban on low-flying aerial advertisers over Spartan Stadium are unnecessary.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently removed the ban placed in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and at last Saturday’s game, the advertisers again flew over the stadium - but not as easily as they once did.

Besides gaining necessary FAA authorization, the low-flying planes and their pilots were thoroughly inspected by the Ingham County Sheriff’s Department.

All that can be done has been done and we need to move on.

The FAA decided to remove the ban for a reason: Danger from the low-flying, banner-towing planes is minimal.

MSU doesn’t own the airspace above its campus and its attempts to renew the ban only will infringe on the rights of advertisers free speech and perpetuate fears of lower flying planes.

Although they are trying to sell their advertising ban as a safety measure, it leaves one to wonder if MSU officials are trying to cash in.

Unlike the advertisements in Spartan Stadium, the university makes no money from the plane advertisements.

While a considerable sum of money can be made from stadium advertisements, MSU shouldn’t try to deny air-friendly advertisers their freedom of speech just to take in more.

And if that is the case, it is sad.

The reality is that Spartan fans are in no more danger from low-flying planes than they are from the buses, motor homes and other vehicles allowed to park outside the stadium without security checks.

The air above Spartan Stadium is well-secured. The few planes that fly around during games are given security checks even when fans who park on campus don’t have their cars checked.

Flying advertisers are no more a danger than they were before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - the airspace is actually more protected than it used to be.