[JYO] Preventing a Tragedy in Washington Skies

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45387-2004Jul12.html


Preventing a Tragedy in Washington Skies 

Tuesday, July 13, 2004; Page A14 

The July 8 front-page article about how close the plane carrying Kentucky Gov. 
Ernie Fletcher came to being shot down last month illustrates the insanity that 
pilots flying in this area must face. The governor's flight was not lost. It 
was on a flight plan filed with the Federal Aviation Administration. It was in 
contact with, and complying with, direction from air traffic control, yet it 
was targeted to be shot down by the U.S. military. Its transponder failed, but 
that information was known by the FAA and should have been passed on to the 
necessary security agencies long before the aircraft approached Washington. 

As a pilot, I am appalled that those responsible would call for expanding the 
area in which such chaos can reign, rather than exploring ways to improve 
communication between the FAA and the agencies responsible for security. 
Enlarging the "no-fly" security area would put more flights at risk and further 
strain air traffic control resources. Everyone living in the area of the flight 
restrictions should be alarmed. Imagine flaming bits of Gov. Fletcher's 
airplane raining down on your neighborhood.

As in the case of the governor's flight, aircraft equipment can and will fail, 
yet flights are routinely concluded safely and without fear of being shot down. 
Unless coordination between these agencies is addressed, the potential remains 
for colossal errors, such as targeting another innocent pilot, perhaps with 
tragic consequences.

BILL BOGGS

Leesburg



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