Organization Takes A Firm Stand Against FAA Restrictions

(Editor's Note: The following is the official statement from the Experimental Aircraft Association regarding the organization's -- very emphatic -- position against the creation of a permanent Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) over Washington, DC to replace the existing TFRA over the nation's capital.)

EAA has left no doubts where it stands on a proposed permanent Washington, D.C., area Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), as the organization stated in its official comments to the Federal Aviation Administration.  The FAA proposal, which has also drawn opposition from nearly every other national aviation organization, would convert the existing Temporary Flight Restricted Area into a permanent Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), severely restricting general aviation activities in a wide region within 50 miles of the nation's capital.

"EAA's comments, consistent with more than 16,000 others made to the FAA thus far, strenuously assert that converting the current ADIZ into a permanently restricted area is a very bad idea and an even worse precedent," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president.  "Security around our nation's capital is a necessity, but this proposal does nothing to enhance security while it eviscerates the general aviation infrastructure in that area."

The temporary ADIZ has caused substantial harm to the region's local airports and businesses, as well as general aviation pilots in the region.  EAA's 39 pages of comments outline these hardships with both broad rationale and specific individual examples.  In addition to drawing opposition from national aviation organizations, FAA's proposal is publicly opposed by members of Congress, affected communities, and thousands of individual EAA members and other pilots.

EAA has several specific objections to this proposal, as outlined in its comments to FAA Docket #FAA-2004-17005-15898:

• It is the first airspace proposal whose sole focus is to deprive Americans of their right to have access to the National Airspace System.  It specifically targets recreational and general aviation pilots.  The proposal was drawn as a response to the 9/11/01 commercial airliner attacks on American citizens, but deviated from that original purpose.
• It is the latest in a disturbing trend where specific agencies and even private corporations have superseded FAA's authority and mandate to manage airspace, without operational need or safety-of-flight issues, and despite overwhelming public comments opposed to the proposals.
• There is no practical administrative method for handling the current ADIZ procedures and none outlined in the SFRA proposal, which further burdens already-stretched controllers in the region.
• A multitude of flight safety and economic threats in the affected region remain under the proposal and, in a number of cases, are worse.

EAA has also filed Freedom of Information Act requests to a half-dozen federal agencies, requesting all information pertaining to the research into this proposal and its creation.

"Along with our complete opposition to this proposal, EAA has forwarded practical, common-sense recommendations that would maintain the vital security of the National Capitol Region and allow adjustments, when necessary, based on known national security threats," Poberezny said.  "Instead of harming the aviation infrastructure and institutionalizing anti-aviation phobia with this plan, FAA should review and understand the thousands of comments, then adopt an alternative method to achieve security goals."

The official comment period ends Wednesday, Nov. 2.  Comments can still be made through that date by any of the following methods:

1. Go to the Docket "comment submit" web page, type in "FAA-2004-17005" in the Docket ID block and "Washington DC ADIZ" in the Document Title block, fill out the rest of the form, then click "continue."  The next page is where comments are actually submitted to the DOT Docket.
2. Fax comments to the DOT Docket at 202-493-2251;
3. Mail them to the Docket (postmark of November 2, 2005 will be accepted):
   Docket Management Facility
   Department of Transportation
   Nassif Building, Room PL-401
   400 Seventh Street, S.W.
   Washington, D.C. 20590-0001

FMI: www.eaa.org