Using Blackhawks and Citations

U.S. Customs Service aircraft began patrolling the airspace around Washington, D.C., Tuesday during the President's State of the Union address. This was the first time Customs exercised its law enforcement role in the new National Capital Region Command Center (NCRCC) airspace. The NCRCC is an interagency command post that facilitates real-time coordination of airspace security and enforcement for the nation's capital. Primary agencies involved in the NCRCC are the FAA, Department of Defense, Transportation Security Administration, and Customs.

Security officials report that there were no violations of the temporary flight restriction area (TFR) during the President's speech.

Now, instead of the Department of Defense, Customs is enforcing SFAR 94 by flying patrols and tagging and tracking aircraft, similar to the way Customs operates in defense of our borders. 

AOPA: This Ain't Gonna Work

"But border patrol strategies won't work in domestic airspace," said AOPA Senior Vice President Andrew V. Cebula. "Unlike the enforcement of international and ADIZ airspace, Customs should not assume that pilots operating domestically are a threat. Failure to recognize this is going to lead to problems."

AOPA is pressing for the NCRCC to consider the operational realities of domestic general aviation operations as they continue to develop methods for protecting the nation's capital. AOPA recently met with NCRCC officials to advocate for general aviation safety and access to the Washington-area airspace. Neither AOPA nor the NCRCC released details of the meeting.

Patrolling Valuable Real Estate

The 60-person NCRCC operation costs the government about a half-million dollars a year. The two UH-60 Blackhawks are unarmed. But the military has posted anti-air batteries around Washington as what officials call a "last ditch" defense in case the city is again attacked from the air.

Customs also uses two Cessna Citations to patrol the 15 square mile slice of airspace, one of the most sensitive in the world. Inside that exclusion zone, you'll find the White House, the US Capitol, as well as the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

FMI: www.customs.gov,  www.aopa.org