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Washington DC ADIZ

So, the chatter around "the District" is that Two in Custody After Capitol Plane Scare:

The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace and came within three miles of the executive mansion. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares.

Two men in the aircraft, which relatives and friends said was on its way to a North Carolina air show, were taken into custody and interviewed by authorities at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort.

Well, luckily for you, my two readers, we already have talked about Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) surrounding Washington, D.C., and below, I reprinted what I found out about the DC ADIZ.

Another interesting tidbit is that there is an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) which envelops Washington DC which pilots have to gain clearance in order to breach the zone. Here is a cool aviation map of the ADIZ and here is another Washington D.C. ADIZ Map. This was done (as far as I can tell) as a response to September 11th and the Iraq War. Here is some useful information:

Effective at 6 AM EST on 10 February 2003 and until further notice, all pilots conducting flight operations within the DC ADIZ will file a flight plan with FSS and receive a discrete transponder code prior to flight.

Each pilot will establish two-way radio communications with ATC prior to entering DC ADIZ airspace and will maintain this capability while within DC ADIZ airspace. Failure to do so has dire consequences.

In addition, each pilot will obtain a briefing by FSS just prior to every flight in the DC ADIZ, including obtaining all applicable airspace restriction NOTAMs.

If pilots breach the zone without proper clearance, "Huntress" a plane from Griffis AFB, NY is called out to investigate. Here is an FAA Guide to Plane Interception Procedures, so that you will know what to do next time your plane is intercepted by America's Bravest.

Additionally, there is an ADIZ surrounding the US on the Atlantic, Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, and Mexican border. Curiously, there is no ADIZ bordering Canada. I always suspected there was some sort of holding-pen or area where incoming planes had to declare themselves before entering US airspace. It also seems that there is a full time AWACS fleet patrolling above the Capital in order to help detect any incoming aircraft. What surprises me, is that this sort of airspace monitoring was not done before the September 11th attacks, or if it did, there wasn't an existing ADIZ around Washington. Again, I am a lay person, so I am assuming there was, and I don't know about it.

It seems that these two pilots, while aware of the restricted airspace, failed to gain clearance either by ignorance or stupidity. Either way, it is oddly comforting that the early warning system that has been put into place since September 11th worked.

Update 2007-06-23
From reader JC:

One thing I noticed that wasn't accurate was in the Washington DC ADIZ entry. The callsign "HUNTRESS" is not a plane. It is the Northeast Air Defense Sector, part of NORAD that watches over the US skies. It also controls the fighters over the US and identifies all aircraft entering the country. It is located at the old Griffiss Air Force Base.

Comments

niklas says:

Posted by: niklas at May 11, 2005 6:01 PM #

plemeljr says:

Posted by: plemeljr at May 11, 2005 6:24 PM #