Two Good Articles About ADIZ Incident

[BruceAir]

The May 13 national edition of the NY Times includes two well-done stories about the recent ADIZ/FRZ indicent:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/national/13plane.html?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/national/13pilots.html

(You may need to be registered with the NY Times to read the stories online via that link.)

The first article, a recap of the incident, begins:

WASHINGTON, May 12 - It weighed about half as much as a Volkswagen Beetle and was traveling toward the nation's capital slower than the police have clocked speeders on Interstate 95.

But the fact that a single-engine Cessna could shut down all three branches of federal government on Wednesday shows that no matter how much air security has improved, the capital remains vulnerable to incursions by blundering pilots.

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What follows is a generally reasonable, well-researched story about the specific incident and the larger issues. For example, the piece concludes thus:

To avoid such problems in the future, pilots of small planes probably need to be better educated, said Anne Witkowsky, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington research organization.

"If we want to continue to allow individuals and recreational fliers to fly - as I think we do - then we need to take all possible steps to ensure that these kinds of mistakes are not made again," Ms. Witkowsky said.


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The second article, "Neighbors Call Lost Pilots Just Two Ordinary Guys," describes the scene in Smoketown and gives neighborly accounts of the pilots involved. It's a lot less frenetic than the TV coverage described elsewhere on PoA, which, to this old print journalist, is further evidence that TV news is far too involved in becoming part of the story rather than reporting.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

The May 13 national edition of the NY Times includes two well-done stories about the recent ADIZ/FRZ indicent:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/national/13plane.html?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/national/13pilots.html

(You may need to be registered with the NY Times to read the stories online via that link.)



The first article, a recap of the incident, begins:

WASHINGTON, May 12 - It weighed about half as much as a Volkswagen Beetle and was traveling toward the nation's capital slower than the police have clocked speeders on Interstate 95.


But the fact that a single-engine Cessna could shut down all three branches of federal government on Wednesday shows that no matter how much air security has improved, the capital remains vulnerable to incursions by blundering pilots.


​

What follows is a generally reasonable, well-researched story about the specific incident and the larger issues. For example, the piece concludes thus:

To avoid such problems in the future, pilots of small planes probably need to be better educated, said Anne Witkowsky, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington research organization.


"If we want to continue to allow individuals and recreational fliers to fly - as I think we do - then we need to take all possible steps to ensure that these kinds of mistakes are not made again," Ms. Witkowsky said.



​

The second article, "Neighbors Call Lost Pilots Just Two Ordinary Guys," describes the scene in Smoketown and gives neighborly accounts of the pilots involved. It's a lot less frenetic than the TV coverage described elsewhere on PoA, which, to this old print journalist, is further evidence that TV news is far too involved in becoming part of the story rather than reporting.

Doesn't sounjd too bad... maybe there's hope...