when flying vfr, don't use the white house as a checkpoint..

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Sulako
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when flying vfr, don't use the white house as a checkpoint..

Post by Sulako »

Man, I feel for the poor guy. He's going to be sitting in a small windowless room for the rest of the day, and probably not given a chance to change his underwear.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/11/evacuation/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An apparent airspace violation over Washington on Wednesday prompted evacuations of the White House and U.S. Capitol as fighter jets scrambled to intercept an unidentified aircraft.

President Bush was not at the White House at the time. Vice President Dick Cheney was in the West Wing of the building when the alert was issued and was moved to a secure location, a senior administration official said.

An all-clear announcement was issued about 15 minutes after the alert.

People streamed out of the White House after being told to evacuate.

"Run, this is no joke, leave the grounds," a U.S. Secret Service agent told CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it had tracked an unidentified aircraft, a high-wing Cessna, that apparently violated airspace over the White House.

Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw said he saw two F-16 jets circle a single-engine airplane and fire warning flares. The jets, which scrambled from nearby Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, then seemed to direct the small aircraft away from downtown Washington, Shaw said.

A Black Hawk helicopter joined the F-16s to escort the plane to a landing site.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, told The Associated Press he was on the Senate floor when police told him to evacuate. "They said, 'Get out of here.' So I ran. There's no joking about this kind of stuff," Shelby said.

On the House floor, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, said, "There was so much commotion in the gallery," AP reported. "People were yelling in the gallery. We thought something had happened in the gallery, and then the alarm came to evacuate."

Federal authorities said the aircraft was being forced to land near Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, at which time the pilot was to be questioned.

Malveaux said a motorcade of six or seven cars left the White House during the evacuation. The motorcade returned about 15 minutes later.

At the time of the incident, Bush was on a bike ride with a security detail in Maryland, officials said.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Joe Johns said members of the Senate were evacuated from the Senate floor while it was in session.

The Secret Service gave the all-clear at the White House minutes after the incident, and allowed journalists to return to the executive mansion.
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Post by ZLIN 142C »

Anytime I think I'm having a really bad day, I'll think of that guy. Ought to cheer me right up.
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Post by hz2p »

Has all that Prohibited airspace / TFR crap stopped one terrorist attack?

Or is it just posturing and opportunistic power-grabbing?

A slow, light airplane will do about as much damage as a bug hitting your windshield.

A faster aircraft (eg old lear), I really doubt they have the ability to stop.

So, why all the kerfuffle?
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Post by desksgo »

hz2p wrote:Has all that Prohibited airspace / TFR crap stopped one terrorist attack?


So, why all the kerfuffle?
Because Americans get off on this stuff. I could see just a slight note of glee on the faces of the security guards as they marched around Washington with their shotguns and told people to RUN. The fear and urgency detected in Wolf Blitzer's voice on CNN, will keep us all tuning in for fear of another terrorist airspace violation. This country is going wacko.
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Post by bizjet_mania »

AHHAHAHA! Let them be Parinoid and get no sleep they deserve it!
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Post by ZLIN 142C »

hz2p wrote:Has all that Prohibited airspace / TFR crap stopped one terrorist attack?

Or is it just posturing and opportunistic power-grabbing?

A slow, light airplane will do about as much damage as a bug hitting your windshield.

A faster aircraft (eg old lear), I really doubt they have the ability to stop.

So, why all the kerfuffle?
We don't agree on much, hz2p, but perhaps we do here. Why all the fuss? My guess is that any domestic scare, even a small one blown way out of proportion, will help to bolster support for the "war on terror" and justify the measures that government is taking. There was a ridiculous bill going through Congress awhile back that would have required ALL passengers, even those getting into a C150, to pass through security screening. This was to happen at ALL airports, I believe. I haven't heard anything lately about this bill - hopefully it met with the end it deserved.

If things get too quiet, it will be difficult to convince the American people to cough up more money for the military and put up with more restrictions on their freedom.
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Post by Dex »

Actually a Cessna and a nuclear suitcase could cause great casualties. Although I think this incident, along with the runaway bride and hand grenade incident, are more to do with The London Times article on May 1 2005 and a letter from 88 Congress members asking Bush some questions relating to the article's content (A memo from Matthew Rycroft dated July 23 2002). May be impeachment material.
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Post by Doc »

"Ladies and Gentlemen, on the left side of the airplane you can see people running out of the White House. On the right side of the airplane you can see an F16 Fighting Falcon...geeeee, look at all the pretty lights!"
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Post by Dex »

Or should i say"great many casualties" and "I think the media sensationism of these incidents...."

dont want to sound like a crackpot on a pilot forum. :lol:
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Post by Cap'n P8 »

Really liked that picture with all the cops standing around while one of them had the guy pinned on the ground. Sort of reminds me how funny it is when you see the cops put on their leather gloves to go and 'speak' to people.
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Post by shitdisturber »

upontop325 wrote:Really liked that picture with all the cops standing around while one of them had the guy pinned on the ground. Sort of reminds me how funny it is when you see the cops put on their leather gloves to go and 'speak' to people.
Better leather gloves than rubber ones. :shock:
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Post by TTail »

In light of this topic I had to dig this one out of my inbox. Received it about 2 weeks ago. Ironically the FAA released an article referring to a new system they are planning on implementing. Too bad in this case they didn't implement it sooner!

Subject: New Visual Warning System for restricted airspace around Washington, D.C.

The Visual Warning System (VWS) is designed to warn pilots who have entered the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the Washington, D.C. area without the authorization of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control. VWS is a ground-based system that uses safety-tested low-level beams of alternating red and green lights to alert pilots that they are flying without approval in designated, restricted airspace. These visually conspicuous lights, distinct from other light signals currently used by FAA Air Traffic Control, are designed to provide a clear warning to pilots who enter the ADIZ without authorization and cannot be contacted on the radio by Air Traffic Control. The VWS will become operational in the Washington DC area on May 21, 2005.

For more information on VWS go to:


http://www.faa.gov/news/news_home/visual_warning/

http://www.norad.mil/index.cfm?fuseacti ... s_fact_vws
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Post by desksgo »

Yea LJ, they are all set to go with the VWS...all ahead full. They figured that they are going to need it because GA will eventually beat down the doors at Reagan International, and you of all people realise that no one in GA aircraft (yea corporate gets stuck in that bunch) knows what they are doing. :roll: Everytime one of those lasers go off people are going to freak out and Wolf Blitzer will put on his shock and worried voice. As long as we all live in fear we keep the axis of evil at bay, apparently. Oi Vey.
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Post by KAG »

If this pilot was infact a student, I would hate to be his instructor... :lol:


Cheers.
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Post by Flying Low »

CTV news was reporting it as two guys in a C150 with nothing but a couple of walkie talkies (no idea if they were handheld aviation transceivers). They were doing a flight between Pennsylvania and somehere else (can't remember where) and the direct path goes right over the White House. Whoops!
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Post by . ._ »

Cessna 150'ahu akbar! :prayer:

:lol:
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Post by cyyz »

istp wrote:Cessna 150'ahu akbar! :prayer:
"a Jew?
No achu.
bless you"
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Post by wha happen »

so is there any word on what is going to happen to this guy, or his instructor. Those crazy americans and their "security procedures".

I wonder if the f16's could slow down enough to actually intercept this "national threat" :roll:

Just relax america, stop acting like the schollyard bully. History dictates that a good majority of bullies become middle aged overweight dudes with receding hairlines and work in bowling allies. Now do you want that? Didint think so, relax.
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Post by TTail »

desksgo wrote:, and you of all people realise that no one in GA aircraft (yea corporate gets stuck in that bunch) knows what they are doing. :roll:
What's that supposed to mean? GA pilots are less adequate???
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Post by 2R »

There have been two cessna's land on the lawn at the White house over the years can anyone remember who the pilots were and who they are flying for now?
At least this proves that the cousins are not so trigger happy as the northern paranoid press would tells us .
8) 8)
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Post by TG »

ADIZ-Incursion Pilots Issue Statement:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050520/205544.html?.v=1
In an effort to be extra careful, and wishing to avoid the restricted area of Camp David during our flight, we over compensated by taking a more than anticipated southerly route, which consequently caused us to infringe upon the Washington, D.C., restricted zones.
And:
subsequently met by representatives from civil, state and federal authorities and agencies. We were treated exceptionally well and proper, and with great courtesy after we explained what had happened.
Well, kinda slow down all the fuss about this story....
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