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Light Aircraft intercepted near Whitehouse

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Light Aircraft intercepted near Whitehouse

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Old 11th May 2005, 16:37
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Light Aircraft intercepted near Whitehouse

The Whitehouse and Capitol building were evacuated at 1200EST today as a light aircraft strayed into the restricted area. Jets were scrambled to intercept it.

Sky News showed scores of people running down the streets away from the area

The all clear has now been given.
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Old 11th May 2005, 21:48
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CNN is devoting so much attention to the story you'd think a Tu-160 had been spotted cruising towards the White House...

F-16s and a UH-60 scrambled to force down a stray Cessna 150 within the 15 mile limit (3 miles out); flares fired by the Vipers to get the guy's attention.

I/C
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Old 11th May 2005, 22:50
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Some PPL in chains and a nice orange suit by now
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Old 12th May 2005, 15:50
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Wrong. Short testy interview with the unsmiling people and a thorough search of the aircraft (no doubt for copies of religous tracts or chem/bio devices or maybe a nuke) both crew released in time for 2300 local news last night.

Now they get to explain to FAA, may suspend licenses but don't have the capability (or cohones) to shoot them down.
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Old 12th May 2005, 17:37
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Iron City said...
don't have the capability (or cohones) to shoot them down.
I would have thought a Stinger would be able to find the exhaust heat from a C150, even fired from the ground. The fact that the aircraft was NOT shot down shows admirable restraint and judgement of the actual threat (given the size and speed of the aircraft).
No casualties, and a chance for the security forces to assess how well their procedures worked. Not a bad result!
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Old 12th May 2005, 18:30
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Now that's an interesting question? Can one get a missile lock on a Cessna C150 -- do they have a significant heat or indeed radar signature for missile targeting purposes?

Or is there an AIM-9 OS variant (for "oil-seeking") which would hit most GA Cessnas?

And as to the event itself -- I can't help feeling that the whole thing was a bit of an over-reaction by the forces of law, order, might, right and justice. Luvvie media has been full of interviews, photos and eye-witness accounts of people running screaming from the Capitol building, Senators with beepers a beeping, guards running shouting orders through the House and Senate, black armored SUVs thundering through the streets of DC, Vice-president put back into his undergound Sarcophagus, Pesident blissfully "unaware" (hem hem)... All seems like a lot of fuss and much mutual masturbation and talk-show congratulation now that the anti-terrorist forces managed to outwit two lost VFR pilots in a C150.

But hearty congratulations to them at the sharp end for handling the intercept in a sane, sensible and reasonable manner.
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Old 12th May 2005, 18:45
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Story
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Old 12th May 2005, 20:37
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Talking

Wow. looks like the usual TSA pre-flight screening of flight crew
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Old 12th May 2005, 20:46
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"That's right sarge, we caught them red handed. A lighter and a pair of nail clippers..."

Shame they weren't so enthusiastic about 'up close and personal' checks when the Saudis flew out on 9/12...



I/C
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Old 12th May 2005, 23:39
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"The president, who was riding his bicycle at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in suburban Maryland, was alerted by his security detail after the drama was over. "

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Old 13th May 2005, 08:24
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says alot about the American attitude how they always want everyone laid face down on the floor.
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Old 13th May 2005, 08:45
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Interesting article in the Times about it..

Apparently after scrambling all the F16s they had to send up Black Hawk helicopters as the fighters couldn't fly slow enough to accompany the Cessna.
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Old 13th May 2005, 08:48
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Bit risky sending up Blackhawks if previous US fighter pilot a/c recognition standards are anything to go by......

On 14 Apr 1994, 2 Blackhawks from Diyarbakir were designated Eagle-1 and Eagle-2. Their first destination was Irbil, Iraq, but they would have to make a stop in Zakhu, Iraq (where the military part of Provide Comfort operated). There were plans to visit several other areas as well.

At 8:22AM, Eagle Flight departed Diyarbakir. They were headed East-Southeast for a "gate" into the No-Fly Zone.

At 9:21AM, Eagle Flight called the AWACS (callsign "Cougar"). They requested and were granted permission to enter the "gate" into the the No-Fly Zone.

At 9:24AM, Eagle Flight lands at Zakhu, Iraq.

At 9:35AM, two USAF F-15 fighters launched from Incirlik to patrol the No-Fly Zone.

At 9:54AM, Eagle Flight calls the AWACS to report departure from Zakhu, Iraq, with a destination of Irbil, Iraq.

At 10:12AM, Eagle Flight enters mountainous terrain. Its IFF failed.

At 10:20AM Tiger Flight passes through "gate" into No-Fly Zone.

At 10:22AM Tiger Flight picks up radar contact at 40nm with no IFF. Tiger-1 reports, "Cougar, picked up helicopter tracking northwest bound." AWACS says the area should be "clean".

At 10:25 AWACS responds that there are "hits there" in the No-Fly Zone - confirming Tiger Flight's radar contact.

F-15 Tiger Flight makes visual contact with Blackhawk Eagle Flight at 5nm.

At 10:28 Tiger-1 conducts a VID pass on the helicopters. "Cougar, tally 2 Hinds."

AWACS replied, "Copy 2 Hinds".

Tiger-1 then instructed Tiger-2 to make a VID pass.

30 seconds later Tiger-2 confirms, "Tally 2."

Tiger-1 to Tiger-2, "Arm hot."

At 10:30AM on April 14, 1994, Tiger-1 fired an AIM 120 at Eagle-2. Tiger-2 fired an AIM 9 at Eagle-1.

The missiles hit Eagle Flight with deadly accuracy. Tiger-1 confirmed the hits to AWACS, "Splash 2 Hinds."

There were no survivors amongst the 26 on board the 2 Blackhawks.

Last edited by BEagle; 13th May 2005 at 09:03.
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Old 13th May 2005, 13:14
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Unfortunately we're evolving into a nation of paranoia and propaganda.
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Old 13th May 2005, 21:49
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You may be right. Maybe we get them to go over to war zones instead of sending our young men and women to be maimed and slaughtered.

The day is not far when some poor private pilot making an honest mistake is taken out by a missile fired by an F-16 under this redneck agenda.

I don't give stock tips.

Last edited by Warren Buffett; 13th May 2005 at 22:27.
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Old 14th May 2005, 11:14
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Do you know what action was taken against the F15 pilots? The guys who blew the canadians away in Kandahar walked free.
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Old 14th May 2005, 13:36
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2 US ANG F-16 pilots, Maj Schmidt and Maj Umbach attacked a Canadian live fire training exercise, killing 4 Canadians and injuring 8 others, in total disregard of their RoE.

After spotting the weapons firing, Umbach immediately tried to determine the precise source of the shooting, while Major Schmidt requested, and was denied, permission to fire his 20-millimetre cannon in that direction.

Then, Major Schmidt was asked to describe the "fireworks" on the ground, and specifically told to "hold fire." But within a few minutes, flying at 23,000 feet, he declared that he was "rolling-in, in self-defence," swooping down to 10,000 feet and dropping a 250-kilogram laser-guided bomb on 100 soldiers with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Schmidt and Umbach were originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault and faced up to 64 years in prison.

The criminal charges against Schmidt were later dropped, and military officials instead charged him with dereliction of duty.

Last July, Schmidt was found guilty on four counts of dereliction of duty, for which he was grounded, reprimanded and docked one month's salary.

All charges against Umbach were dismissed. He was given a letter of reprimand and his retirement request granted.

How did I guess they were from an ANG unit.... From personal experience of them in Incirlik, many of them come across as trigger-happy ill-disciplined rednecks.

Umbach was actually the squadron's commander. Interestingly, Schmidt's 'call-sign' (that childish Top Gun thing so beloved of spams) was 'psycho'. It was clearly apt.

Last edited by BEagle; 14th May 2005 at 14:23.
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Old 14th May 2005, 15:19
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I think Tigs refering to the Hind/UH-60 mis-ident. Do the USAF have anything like Recognition Journal BTW?
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Old 14th May 2005, 15:41
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Sorry - misread Tigs' post.

The two F-15 pilots--Lt. Col. Randy W. May and Capt. Eric Wickson--were taken off flying status for at least three years. Additionally, AWACS officers Capt. Jim Wang, Capt. Joseph M. Halcli and 1st Lt. Ricky L. Wilson were disqualified from controlling aircraft for three years.

Do they have a Recognition journal? Don't know. But at Incirlk the increasingly long pre-mission briefs sometimes included recognition slides. Once they put up a piccie of an F-15.... "Hoo-ah! It's a Hind, waste the mutha!" came the Brit voice from the back.

Spams not amused!
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Old 14th May 2005, 17:56
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Thanks.
I believe that one of the main pieces of evidence for the defence of the 2 F16 ANG pilots was that they had been prescribed amphetamines to keep them 'up'. A side effect of amphetimines is that after 72 hours on the junk you may become very irrational and it will affect decision making. The defence lawers stated that as the pilots had been prescribed the amphetimines by the US military, their subsequent irrational behaviour was the US militarys fault! The pilots also had an in-theatre squadron patch which said on it 'F**k patience i want to kill something'! Well they did didn't they.

During GW1 i was flying a Puma on a liason visit with the Patriot Batteries being set up, on landing at their HQ, the Col in charge came over to us and said 'Hey who the hell is flying the pink Hips?'. When i pointed out that they were infact Pumas, which the Brits and French operate, as opposed to Hips which Saddam operates, he said 'well i never new that, look like Hips to me". He then continued his rounds of the Stinger patrols being set up as a perimeter defence for his Patriot HQ. We then had to set up trips to all the Stinger outposts to show them what a Puma looked like.
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