Mon, Mar 24, 2003
Not Another Washington Debacle...
Prior to implementation of New York City's Air Defense
Identification Zone (ADIZ) last week, EAA and the National
Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) got together with FAA and
TSA officials, hoping to prevent the kinds of implementation and
operational problems pilots experienced with the
Baltimore-Washington area ADIZ. At first blush, it doesn't seem to
be working.
So Far, It's Not Working
A lot of pilots flying in the New York area report serious
difficulties with the FAA's handling of the intended procedures.
EAA and NAFI members have identified a number of specific concerns
affecting flight operations in the New York area and particularly
with the vibrant flight training community at Republic Field (FRG)
on Long Island.
As a result, the two organizations have made specific
recommendations to senior FAA air traffic officials in Washington
(DC) to improve operational efficiency and airspace access going
into the weekend.
No VFR Plans Accepted?
NAFI Master Instructor Phil Poynor, Chief
Instructor at the Nassau Flyers flight school based at FRG,
explained that much of the confusion is stemming from an apparent
failure of the air traffic computers to accept VFR flight plans.
Thus, word was spread by air traffic and flight service personnel
that the FAA was only accepting IFR flight plans, overloading the
system and keeping many flight training operations on the ground.
Other confusion and delays stemmed from controllers' erroneous
attempts to assign altitude blocks to GA flights, which quickly
saturated the airspace from an IFR positive control perspective.
EAA and NAFI are urging FAA to reorient their controllers to focus
on providing VFR clearances and flight following services only
rather than treating each operation as an IFR flight under positive
airspace control and separation.
EAA and NAFI say they will will remain in contact with senior
air traffic officials throughout the weekend in an ongoing effort
to address operational concerns in both the Washington and New York
restricted airspaces.
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