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Pilots Released After Moving Into White House Airspace
John Stith
Staff Writer
2005-05-12
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
It's a delightful May morning. The sun is shining, no rain, it's gorgeous out. You've got a road trip to an air show in North Carolina planned. So you get in the plane with your instructor. You run through the checks and do all the things you do to prepare for takeoff.
You're at the Smoketown airstrip in Pennsylvania so you've got a pleasant trip ahead of you. Then you're moving, you're in the air. You hit your cruising speed and altitude and you're having a good day. It's approaching lunchtime.
You're hitting the east coast area of Baltimore and D.C. You can see the Capitol building. There's the White House and the Supreme Court off in the distance.
"This is air traffic control at Reagan International Airport. You're approaching restricted airspace. Please alter your course," booms over the radio.
OK. Your instructor sits there and you sit there. How do you change course in this thing again?
"This is air traffic control at Reagan International Airport. You're approaching restricted airspace. Please alter your course, NOW," booms over the radio.
This is the second time they've sent this message out. I wonder what's up. We couldn't be closer than a couple of miles. I guess we need to change course.
"This is air traffic control at Reagan International Airport. You're IN restricted airspace. If you don't alter your course, you stand a chance of being shot down," booms over the radio.
Uh… gee… what do we do now? How do I operate this radio? Do this mic work?
"SPIT!" booms over the mic. " HELLO?"
You look out the windows and see a pair of F16s directing you and firing warning flares. They inform you that you need to put down at an airstrip in Frederick, MD or you WILL be SHOT down. OH $#%^! I think I've soiled myself.
"I hope it ain't Guantanamo."
There you're escorted by a variety of authorities relating to homeland security to a local detention facility.
In the meantime, Congress has been evacuated, as has the Supreme Court building. Vice-President Dick Cheney, first lady Laura Bush, and former first lady Nancy Reagan are all in the White House and are all hauled to secure locations.
The student pilot Troy D. Martin, 36, and instructor pilot Hayden (Jim) Sheaffer, were arrested and questioned.
You spend some quality time with the authorities explaining exactly why you and your instructor couldn't move out of the restricted airspace or why you didn't have enough sense to stay out of the restricted area.
The gentlemen were released after questioning.
"This appears to be errant pilots," Capitol Police Chief Terence Gainer said after the incident.
Errant pilots, yeah, that's the ticket. I think the kid needs a new instructor.
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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