make us all look bad

[1739T]

OK, I've got to vent here.

As a 1000 plus hour pilot with no commercial aspirations I just wanna have fun flying my cherokee 140. I do however understand that there are rules, you don't enter restricted airspace. When you plan a route that's near one then don't even cut it close.

There are enough misconceptions about the threat of GA without an aircraft flying into restricted airpace above DC and causing frantic evacuations and a mdeia blitz.

While unintentional, this pilot needs to lose his license for a while. The penalty for that kind of bad judgement or execution should be harsh. We risk losing our flying freedom as the public is ready to give up freedom for a sense of security.

The nonflying public is just looking for an excuse to add all kinds of restrictions to GA, don't provide opportunity. And AOPA does not need to come to the aid of this pilot (and student pilot). AOPA needs to say that they where wrong and should have privledges revoked. The non flying public needs to know that we police our own as well.

Just couldn't hold that in any longer.

[Denny of Oakland]

You are very right on this issue. AOPA needs to stay out of this.

The CFI is fully responsible for the actions of himself and the student pilot. Having worked for the government of 30 years I know the knee jerk reaction of the government is to punish everyone and create new rules to punish everyone with.

Here is a case where a single pilot/CFI did not follow procedures and should accept the punishment. I wonder how many hours this CFI has and who signed them off?

Have we forgotten that a bunch of terrorists killed over 2,000 Americans and tried to take out the White House with aircraft? This aircraft is so lucky the real Americans in the fighter aircraft didn’t take him out.

When will America wake up? Yes, we aviators need to voice our opinions on this because it will affect us all.

Denny of Oakland

[1739T]

Denny,

I don't think the offedning pilot was a CFI. The story as understand it was a PPL and a student pilot (not his student) on the way to a fly-in from somewhere in Penn to North Carolina. I would also like to know how many hours he had. This may be a case of newly minted (license to learn) pilot just making a bone head play. Even so - show poor planning and decision making he needs to be on the ground for a while.

If it where a CFI it'e even worse.

Regardless, AOPA and the pilot community should not shelter this guy. We need to be outraged. We need to show an ilinformed public that we as a group are concerned and take action. If we don't then the public will feel like it's us and against them and action and probably dispaporttionate action may be taken.

My worst fear is that we will lose VFR flight priviledges country wide and that will deal a sever blow to GA. Not this time but the next time or possibly somewhere in the near future.

[pipersioux]

that is a morbid thought, but it would be naive to think that it couldn't and wont happen. I agree, dont even go near that area, just not worth it.

[bluesideup]

Did anyone forbid private cars from entering DC, or buses or trucks that can really carry a lot of explosives. You guys are way to ready to give the government what others are not giving. The thought of a Bonanza or Lance or even a Baron or King Air causing a 9/11 disaster is comical. Certainly the C-150 threat was non-existant. AOPA had a resposibility to reign in the FAA and TSA if possible. Yes, the pilot involved should have known better. He should pay a price but get real. There are still boaters on the Potomac. How much explosive could you cram into a 47 ft. Searay?

[1739T]

Blue,

You sort of missed the point. I think we all agree that a rouge cessna 150 doesn't present the same potential danger as a tractor trailer in terms of volume of material. The point is that the restriction is in place and it should be respected becasue failure to do so may result in additional restriction. We in the US have the greatest flying freedom just about anywhere. Don't take it for granted and follow the simple rules or they more no longer be simple.

[bluesideup]

Someone out there also misses the point when they criticize AOPA for defending our rights with regard to the DC ADIZ. The ADIZ has stripped the rights of general aviation public in DC. While a pilot should had some sort of punishment for penetrating controlled airspace without following the rules it shouldn't be a greater punishment than he would receive for, say, entering class B airspace without a clearance. Clearly he posed no threat to anyone. He was just a befuddled pilot. So, do you really think it's right to strip the poor fool of his private pilot certificate? Do you really think pilots should be forced to go the DC to get special ID's from TSA just to operate from the DC3 airports. I've been flying for 40 years, I am well aware of the necessity of rules and following them. On the other hand enforcement should fit the crime and stand the test of reasonableness. This is a case of the government grandstanding to the public to parade their idea of protection where infact none exists. One of my jobs in the past was FAA FSDO air safety inspector. I have a very good feel for fair and unfair enforcement as well as unfair and stupid public policy. As a group, we should not be ready offer up our brothers for sacrifice. In my opinion, passive acceptance of bad policy only invites more bad policy.

[bluesideup]

Although I respect Denny of Oakland for his fine maintenance and interpretation of FAR's I think he is way off base when he talks about the "real Americans in the fighters". I was an Air Force pilot and most of my friends are mililtary pilots from various services. I don't recall anyone of us thinking that we are the real Americans as opposed to to rest of the population. Infact I don't recall any of my friends, some current guard/reserve fighter types, ever expressing enthusiasm for splashing a Cessna. Military pilots serve the people. It isn't the other way around.

[mad2fly]

Although I agree that an offending pilot should be punished, I think the punishment should be no harsher than any other violation of airspace rules. Perhaps a temporary suspension and or remedial training.

People make mistakes but should they permanently lose their flying privileges and possibly their livelihood because of a mistake? I hope that I never make a mistake like that but I do make mistakes luckily so far I'm the only one that knows about them.

Imagine you just invested 10's of thousands of dollars on flight training and now your a low time CFI out with a student in the DC area or by a TFR. You get distracted and don't realize you wandered into restricted airspace. Would you want to lose all that money and your dreams because of that one mistake?