from the Washington Post..
Private Pilots Breach Area No-Fly Zone
Confusion Over Rules Cited in Spate of Cases
By Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 12, 2003; Page B01
More than 35 general aviation aircraft have violated airspace
restrictions covering much of the Washington area since Friday, with
many straying into the forbidden zone as the result of being unaware of
tighter flight rules put into place during last month's heightened
terror alert, federal authorities said yesterday.
In several instances, pilots were directed out of the restricted area
by federal authorities patrolling the skies in Black Hawk helicopters.
Some were forced to land at nearby airports for questioning,
authorities said. None of the pilots appeared to have intentionally
violated Washington airspace, and none caused any harm, authorities
said.
The Federal Aviation Administration established the stricter flight
rules in the Washington area Feb. 10, soon after the nation's threat
index was raised to its second-highest level, orange, connoting a high
risk of a terrorist attack. Although the threat index was moved back a
notch to yellow Feb. 27, the restrictions have remained in effect.
Pilots must receive clearance from air traffic controllers before
entering the restricted area, but many are failing to do so.
The spate of recent violations has created challenges for federal
authorities attempting to sort out those inadvertently straying into
the restricted area from those who might be planning to launch a
terrorist strike. The FAA, Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, Secret Service and military share responsibility for
monitoring the region's air traffic.
Aviation specialists said last weekend's clear skies and favorable
weather brought out numerous pilots who apparently were unaware of the
new rules.
"It was chaotic over the weekend," said Charles Spence, a spokesman for
the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, adding that pilots have
been struggling to learn the region's new boundaries. "The FAA has not
been ready for what is happening."
Linda Schuessler, an FAA air traffic manager, said the violations were
taxing air traffic controllers, but she took issue with Spence's
remarks. "It was not chaotic whatsoever. It was very controlled. Safety
was never compromised," she said.
The changes were the latest in a series of steps taken by federal
authorities since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which
hijackers crashed jets into the Pentagon and World Trade Center. After
the attacks, the FAA established a "temporary flight restriction" that
bars private planes from flying below 18,000 feet within 15 miles of
the Washington Monument.
Then, on Feb. 10 of this year, the FAA expanded the restricted
airspace. It now covers a 30-mile radius from each of the region's
three major airports -- Reagan National, Baltimore-Washington
International and Dulles International.
In the newly restricted territory, pilots must radio the air traffic
control tower for permission to enter the airspace.
Before taking off in the Washington area, or if approaching from
another region, pilots must get from the control tower a four-digit
code to punch into a transponder, a device that transmits a signal to
the control tower, allowing the FAA to track the plane.
Robert L. Montague III, a pilot from Alexandria, was questioned by
federal authorities Friday for supposedly violating the new rules. In
an interview yesterday, Montague said he did nothing wrong. He
maintained that an FAA weather briefer told him he could take off from
a Southern Maryland airport and then radio for the code, advice he
followed.
Montague said he found out he was in trouble when he landed in the
Shenandoah Valley in Bayse, Va., and was approached by a sheriff's
deputy, a Virginia State Police trooper and a federal customs agent.
"It was totally out of order," said Montague, a veteran pilot and
lawyer. "They didn't tell me I did anything wrong." The FAA declined to
comment on his case and said all of the violations were under
investigation.
None of the violations since Friday occurred within the 15-mile limit
around the Washington Monument, the FAA said.
There were 28 violations of the expanded airspace in February and four
violations of the 15-mile limit, the FAA said.
The FAA's Schuessler said she hoped the number of violations would
decline as more pilots learned of the change.
"We are living in a changing environment in the national capital area,"
she said. "They are just going to have to make sure they're educated
before they get in the cockpit."
Schuessler said that roughly half of the violators since Friday were
passing through the region, and the rest were attempting to land in the
area. Penalties for violating the airspace rules can range from a
letter of reprimand to a revocation of the pilot's license.
Maj. Douglas Martin, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace
Defense Command, which has responsibility for defending U.S. airspace,
said no military jets were scrambled for the violations over the past
five days.
He declined to say how many times jets have been scrambled in the
Washington area for security purposes but said that since Sept. 11,
2001, fighters responded 1,040 times in incidents in the United States
and Canada.
The most publicized violation since the attacks unfolded June 19, when
a Cessna 182 flew within four miles of the White House, prompting a
brief evacuation.
F-16 fighters were scrambled, but by that time, the Cessna had flown
out of the restricted area.
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