AOPA National Pilot Alert: All Members Urged To Oppose DC
ADIZ
AOPA is urging all of its more than
406,000 members to take just 15 minutes to help protect your
freedom to fly — to prevent a future air defense
identification zone (ADIZ) from restricting airspace in your
area.
"AOPA needs the voice of every member to tell the FAA and
Congress not to make the Washington,DC, ADIZ permanent," said AOPA
President Phil Boyer. "The ADIZ is ill conceived, poorly executed,
and unnecessary. It's a dangerous precedent because it paves the
way to make these confusing and onerous flight restrictions a real
possibility within the footprint of every Class B airspace around
the country." Pilots attending the Phoenix-area Pilot Town Meeting
last week -- more than 2,000 miles from DC -- expressed their
concern to Boyer about the ADIZ becoming permanent.
AOPA is taking this highly unusual step -- only the third time
in more than 10 years -- in order to take full advantage of one of
the association's key assets. "We know that there is great strength
in numbers. It's what has made us so successful in so many other
initiatives," said Boyer. "I want to thank the thousands of members
who have already submitted their comments. And I strongly urge all
the other AOPA members to take the time to do so as well. This is
an important investment in protecting your personal right to fly,"
said Boyer. "This is not a situation where any of us can sit back
and say, 'I'll leave this to someone else to do.'"
AOPA has made filing your comments easy with a step-by-step
guide to help you craft your message and submit it to the FAA and
copy your members of Congress.
AOPA believes the threat is so serious that it has issued only
its third national pilot alert in more than a decade. The
"temporary" ADIZ has been a permanent fixture of the
Washington-Baltimore Class B airspace since it was hastily imposed
over a weekend during the runup to war in Iraq two and a half years
ago. A similar ADIZ has been imposed several times around New York
City, but it has lasted only a short time in each case.
And some security officials have indicated they'd like to see
ADIZ restrictions around other major cities.
"Understand that this would be much more restrictive than the
Class B, returning to the way things were in the months following
9/11," said Boyer. "You won't be able to fly VFR 'under the shelf'
anymore to outlying airports."
The inner ring around the hub
airport could become a "Flight Restricted Zone" (FRZ), much like
the 15-nm-radius FRZ around Washington, DC. It could be
off-limits to most flights.
The ADIZ itself would extend to the surface from the outer ring
of the Class B and could be even larger, much like the "enhanced
Class B" that was put into effect shortly after 9/11. To fly in the
ADIZ, pilots would first have to file a flight plan with FSS (no
DUAT filing is permitted), obtain a discrete transponder code, and
remain in contact with air traffic control (ATC).
"The Washington ADIZ tripled controller workload, costing the
taxpayers an additional $11 million a year," said Boyer. "But the
FAA didn't add substantially to its resources. If you think getting
a Class B clearance is difficult today, just ask Washington-area
pilots what it's like to try to get through for an ADIZ
clearance.
"Also ask them about the severe enforcement penalties —
including the risk of being shot down — for simple technical
errors made while trying to follow complex procedures."
Recently, AOPA media relations staff flew a reporter from the
influential Washington newspaper The Hill, which reaches Congress
and federal officials, into the ADIZ to demonstrate some of the
problems. They circled for some 15 minutes, trying to pick up their
clearance into the ADIZ.
But it can be much worse. Some AOPA members have reported trying
for up to an hour to get through on the telephone to ATC to pick up
their clearance and transponder code so that they can depart from
an airport inside the ADIZ. Other horror stories include lost
flight plans, orders to exit the ADIZ rather than return to the
departure airport because of a transponder failure, and flight
instructors refusing to teach inside the ADIZ because simple
mistakes such as cycling a transponder too early can have severe
career consequences.
Boyer acknowledged the need to protect the nation's capital. But
the critical areas, including Congress, the White House, the
Pentagon, and every significant federal agency headquarters are
ringed by the FRZ, which itself is well protected with multiple
radar systems, laser warning systems, anti-aircraft missile
batteries, man-portable anti-aircraft defense systems, and US
Customs and Border Protection and US Air Force interceptor
aircraft.
The restrictions in the 3,000-square-nautical-mile Washington
ADIZ surrounding the FRZ "are excessive and do little to increase
security," Boyer said. "There are simple and rational procedures
that can provide adequate security without setting a dangerous
precedent that threatens GA pilots everywhere. One size doesn't fit
all."