October 2005 - American Bonanza Society

M E M B E R'SV lEW SNovember 2 deadline for public commentPROPOSED EXPANDEDWASHINGTON, D.C.FLIGHT RESTRICTIONSBY MIKE TRUFFER, DELAND, FLORIDAiting a need to protect our nation'scapital from "the ongoing threatof terrorist attacks," the FAAwants to make permanent the post-9111flight restrictions it imposed severalyears ago on the greater Washington.D.C. area,In early August, the agency issuedthe otice of Proposed Rulemaking(NPRM) 2003-17005, a 14-page documentexplaining exactly what it wants todo. The FAA says the proposal has thebacking of the Department ofHomeland Security, the military aodother government agencies.In short, the Air DefenseIdentification Zone (ADlZ) and FlightRestricted Zone (FRZ) that the FAAcreated over the capital soon after 9111would get a new name-theWashington DC Metropolitan AreaSpecial Flight Rules Area (DC SFRA).The area would also become a new typeof airspace: National Defense Airspace,The area is big, as the illustrationshows, spanning nearly 2,000 squaremiles. Approximately 150 airports liewith in it, AOPA says. It extends fromthe surface to 18,000 feet MSL.The NPRM says the permanentrestrictions are necessary because "theDHS believes tbat the threat of extremistslaunching an attack using an aircraftremains high." It cites informationgained from several interrogations andsearches.The list of NPRM's special operatingprocedures is too long and detailed tolist here. But basically, an aircraft mustfile a flight plan with an FSS beforeentering National Defense Airspace(either from outside it or from an airportlocated in it), squawk an assignedtransponder code, maintain two-wayradio communication with ATC andcomply with all ATC instructions.ous ATC control. An inop Mode Ctraosponder can be literally a matter oflife or death (ask the governor ofKentucky). No pop-up clearaoces, either.While most pilots try their best tocomply with ATC instructions aod theFARs, they make mistakes, as do controllersaod military pilots. In many partsof the country, a mistake that has no consequencesoften has no repercussions. Noone hurt, lesson learned, let's move on.But as hundreds of pi lots havelearned so far, there is no slack whenflying near Washington, D.C. For example,some pilots have faced certificateaction for inadvertently mistuning theirtransponders or accidentally pushing atraosponder button that changes lhemfrom a discrete code to 1200.The proposed regulations say that ifa pilot does not comply with therequirements to the letter, the governmentmay use "deadly force" againsthim, or it may penalize with criminalcharges, certificate action and civilpenalties. One FAA manager explainedthat pilots who violate the regulationscould have their aircraft seized.As this is being written, there havebeen more thao 3,500 recorded violationsof ADIZ procedures. Maoy of these werePage 9251The downsideThese requirements may not soundtoo bad to those Bonanza and Baronpilots who routinely fly !FR, or VFRpilots wbo routinely file VFR flightplans and take advantage of flight following.But the devil is in the details.Operations within the WDC ADlZand FRZ have been-and the NationalDefense Airspace will be-