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Low flying single engine plane flies directly over President Bush's motorcade
Low flying single engine plane flies directly over President Bush's motorcade in Philadelphia, before being intercepted and grounded by police... MORE... Security breach occurred at 12:07PM ET on Interstate 95 heading south toward Philadelphia, DRUDGE has learned. Bush had just finished a visit to the Financial Management Service Facility, which mails out tax rebate checks. Flying from right to left the white plane flew over the Presidents motorcade just north of exit 26, with a police chopper hot on its tail. Breach occurred just weeks after stow away boarded Bush press plane in Africa... Developing...
This is another wonderful "non-story" whipped up by the media....
First of all, the Secret Service is so tight lipped about where the Prez is, they won't even say in advance. As an airline Captain, if Air Force One is on freq, they won't even tell me his position.
So, a guy decides to fly his 152 on a VFR day. Do you suppose he checked the 95 pages of NOTAMS that may or may not have had any info on the Prez? There's no way to cover small parts of a city so the only reasonable thing to do is to ground the entire area! How the heck are they going to do that? BS!
Do what they did when they used to move nuke warheads through town: Put a couple of choppers in the air as added protection and get on with life.
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Federal authorities on Thursday detained the pilot of a small plane who mistakenly flew over President Bush's motorcade as he left a speaking venue in Philadelphia, officials said.
The man piloting the single-engine Cessna 172 violated a 30-mile no-fly zone around the president, while he was patrolling an oil pipeline at altitudes too low to be sighted on radar, according to aviation and law enforcement officials.
An F-16 fighter and two military helicopters intercepted the tiny aircraft and escorted it to a suburban New Jersey airport about 15 miles southeast of Philadelphia, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"He was unaware that there was a temporary flight restriction in effect. There was no threat. There was no malice," explained James Borasi, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Philadelphia field office.
He identified the pilot only as an employee of Underwood Aerial Patrol of Bloomingburg, Ohio, which he said provides air patrols for pipeline and powerline companies. The firm could not be reached immediately for comment.
The FAA said it imposed temporary flight restrictions around Philadelphia from 9:35 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EDT, while Bush visited a government check processing plant to promote this week's mailing of child tax-credit payments to American families.
Shortly after 11:40 a.m. EDT, the FAA said a state police helicopter spotted the Cessna as it approached the president's motorcade route and trailed the plane until military aircraft arrived.
The motorcade was taking Bush to Philadelphia International Airport for a flight to the Detroit area.
The pilot was forced to land at Camden County Airport in Berlin, New Jersey, where about 30 police officers, with guns drawn, waited for the plane to taxi to a stop and then ordered the man to lie down on the tarmac.
"They handcuffed him and whisked him out of here," said Karl Kleinberg, the airport's owner.
The man was released without charge after being detained for hours at a New Jersey police station.
The FAA said it was investigating whether aviation rules had been violated.
What a sad year for aviation. Meigs gets destroyed on grounds of national security, a 172 poses a threat and oh... happy 100th anniversary of powered flight.
Last edited by Squawk7777 : 25th July 2003 at 09:16.
30 police officers, with guns drawn, waited for the plane to taxi to a stop and then ordered the man to lie down on the tarmac. "They handcuffed him and whisked him out of here," said Karl Kleinberg, the airport's owner.
PlaneTruth --
Quite a "non-event" when you're down on the runway being handcuffed at gunpoint. Sorry, guy, but you can't blame the media for calling thirty armed cops with drawn guns.
"Quite a "non-event" when you're down on the runway being handcuffed at gunpoint. Sorry, guy, but you can't blame the media for calling thirty armed cops with drawn guns."
The story is not "Terrorist Attack On President Averted" but rather, "Authorities Overreact To Pilot Doing His Job."
Dittos to Squawk7777. At this rate their won't be any private aviation in a few years. The federal govenment throws up restricted airspace capriciously thinking it will keep everyone out. (See this months FLYING magazine -a few hot pilots complaining about these random restrictions.) Wrong. By highlighting these inadvertant and inevitable incursions into random restricted areas, the Feds are simply telling the terrorists, "Come and get 'em." Stupid move if you ask me. They could have simply follwed this guy to his destination (or logged his N number and called the owner) and asked him a few questions. Thirty weapons pointed at a guy doing his job only emphasizes the ludicrous nature of our response to terrorism. The guy had a shot at the Prez and didn't take it. Either direct the offender away with other escort aircraft ( an S-76 helicopter equipped with F-16 radar to look for incoming aircraft and another one to supplement and chase the offender away) or give up and expect that a few civil aircraft will pass nearby. It will happen again. And again. And with this response, the press will trumpet the shortcomings to everyone.
Correction noted; you were speaking of the incursion/interception as being a non-event ... and I was speaking of the cops/pilot's view that this was, indeed, quite an event.
I think the feds darn well better keep an eye on 172's (figuratively), as one of them could load up with gasoline (as in the 727 gone missing in Africa) and figure out pretty quickly where the motorcade will be.
I realize the precautions taken, as I was part of a deal working with Fed agencies when a POTUS came to my building and I now know many of the diversionary things they do. I am also sure I do not know even more of what was done.
But: If you want to pop the prez, a little GA gas bomb moving fast and low could get close enough to at least scare everyone. If our uninformed pipeline-spotter, toodling around in a 172, could get that close, I'm sure a determined terrorist could do better.
I'm afraid we might become a little too complacent.
The TFR's are a real pain that I feel is quite unnecessary- after all, haven't the terrorists gotten what they want when we no longer have free access to the skies?
However, I must say it's not too hard to check for the restrictions with Flight Service prior to flying.
The 30 cops and the SS were merely justifying thier jobs...sign o' these paranoid times. Hope they weren't too hard on the poor fellow.
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