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View Full Version : U.S. Fighter Jets Intercept Another Plane Near D.C.



Gold9472
05-24-2005, 05:37 PM
US fighter jets intercept another plane near DC

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=B1KRYAF4QBSVQCRBAELCF EY?type=domesticNews&storyID=8580566&pageNumber=1

(Gold9472: Boy, they're getting really good at it, or were they already?)

By John Crawley
Mon May 23, 2005 09:27 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military jets intercepted a small plane that strayed into restricted airspace around Washington on Monday, the second time in nearly two weeks fighter planes steered a wayward aircraft away from the capital with flares, aviation and military officials said.

Unlike the May 11 incident when the airspace breach prompted the evacuation of the White House, Capitol and Supreme Court, Monday's late afternoon incident triggered no frantic security response on the ground.

Senate leaders were notified Cessna had entered restricted airspace and were preparing to clear the floor when authorities sent word the plane had veered away from Washington.

Witnesses said the aircraft flew over the close-in Maryland suburbs shadowed by fighter jets, which dropped a flare to get the pilot's attention.

It was not clear if poor weather -- clouds and light rain -- were a factor in the incident.

An aviation source said the plane involved in Monday's incident was apparently on a flight from Knoxville, Tennessee, to the Washington area and "clipped" restricted airspace about 20 miles from Washington.

The source said the plane's pilot could not be raised on the radio but the reason for that problem was not clear.

Maj. Douglas Martin, a spokesman for the joint North American Air Defense Command, said two F-16 aircraft were scrambled from Andrews Air Force base outside Washington in Maryland.

Witnesses told Reuters the fighters dropped one flare at about 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) while flying approximately 10 miles north of downtown Washington in suburban Maryland.

Martin confirmed one flare was dropped to get the pilot's attention and said the pilot responded immediately and was directed to land at Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Separately on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had revoked the license of the pilot in charge of the plane that prompted the security panic 12 days ago, saying he "severely compromised safety and security."

Regulators said Hayden "Jim" Sheaffer did not adequately prepare for the flight and made numerous operational and judgment errors. A student pilot, Troy Martin, was at the controls of that plane, also a Cessna. Martin was not disciplined.

The FAA action was only the second license revocation in the past year for Washington airspace violations, which occur twice a day on average, regulators said. Other pilots have had licenses suspended for shorter periods.

Private planes, with rare exceptions, cannot fly within 16 miles of Washington and can only operate 30 miles beyond that if they electronically transmit a security code and maintain radio contact with controllers.

Sheaffer, of Lititz, Pennsylvania, can appeal to transportation safety officials or he can wait for a year and apply for a new license.

A lawyer representing Sheaffer did not return calls for comment.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Gold9472
05-24-2005, 06:14 PM
It just seems like there's something we should be looking at with these stories...

Gold9472
05-24-2005, 06:15 PM
I can't quite put my finger on it yet...

somebigguy
05-24-2005, 06:22 PM
I can't quite put my finger on it yet...
Think somethings up??? Does seem kinda stranged. Are we being set up???

Good Doctor HST
05-24-2005, 06:22 PM
Remember when that little plane almost hit the White House when Clinton was in office? How did that plane make it so close? I was just wondering..... Weren't the restrictions on airspace so stringent back then maybe?

somebigguy
05-24-2005, 06:24 PM
I wonder if we are being conditioned to these events for a future terror attack that will require a passenger jet be shot down.

Gold9472
05-24-2005, 06:28 PM
Remember when that little plane almost hit the White House when Clinton was in office? How did that plane make it so close? I was just wondering..... Weren't the restrictions on airspace so stringent back then maybe?

Go look in the truther forum. I posted something about that yesterday... it's called, "An Interesting Counter Argument" or something...

Here's what stands out to me...
9:10am, Flight 77 enters Washington D.C. Airspace, and goes undetected for 36 minutes.

That plane went undetected for 36 minutes, and managed to hit the Pentagon. Not a small plane like the previous two that were intercepted, but a massive 757. You mean to tell me they couldn't see it? PUHLEESE.

Gold9472
05-24-2005, 06:30 PM
GDHST... here's the story about the 1994 crash into the White House...

http://www.yourbbsucks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2049

Good Doctor HST
05-24-2005, 06:35 PM
The FAA action was only the second license revocation in the past year for Washington airspace violations, which occur twice a day on average, regulators said.


Yeah, I didn't know this. According to strategypage.com (military and news affairs):

"Several hundred violations of the DC no-fly zone occur each year, most of them by disoriented private pilots in small aircraft."

Shouldn't we hear about airplanes in the no-fly zone EVERY DAY?? So why all the big news recently about these? Very good question.....

Gold9472
05-24-2005, 06:38 PM
Yeah, I didn't know this. According to strategypage.com (military and news affairs):

"Several hundred violations of the DC no-fly zone occur each year, most of them by disoriented private pilots in small aircraft."

Shouldn't we hear about airplanes in the no-fly zone EVERY DAY?? So why all the big news recently about these? Very good question.....

I understand if we hear about an evactuation, but why aren't they evactuated all the time? On average, twice a day?

pcteaser
05-24-2005, 08:15 PM
I have to wonder if this is the media's backdoor approach to broaching the subject of lack of air defense on 9/11? By pointing out how often off course planes are being intercepted now, it really brings home the point that NORAD dropped the ball on that September day.

Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part.

Gold9472
05-24-2005, 08:16 PM
I have to wonder if this is the media's backdoor approach to broaching the subject of lack of air defense on 9/11? By pointing out how often off course planes are being intercepted now, it really brings home the point that NORAD dropped the ball on that September day.

Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part.

I thought about that... and then I thought about looking into the author of the article, and to see whatelse he/she has written.