"Loitering" Pilots Warned Of Consequences

In response to concerns from security officials, FAA has issued a new nuclear power plant NOTAM. Pilots are still advised not to "loiter or circle" in the vicinity of nuclear power plants, but now TSA is brandishing a stick; pilots who fly suspiciously around the power plants can expect to be interviewed by law enforcement personnel. And if law enforcement isn't convinced the pilot's flight activities were innocent, the pilot's name may be added to TSA's incident reporting system database (and you get marked with TSA's Scarlet Letter...).

FAA issued this advisory NOTAM rather than reinstating the 10-mile TFRs around all nuclear facilities that was put into effect for a little over a week in October 2001. Some security officials had been pushing for re-closing the airspace around some 90 nuclear facilities, affecting more than 700 public and private airports.

TSA maintains that the incident reporting system is NOT the same thing as the agency's security list, which TSA can use to revoke a pilot's certificate for being a "security threat."

"Nevertheless, the government must not use this advisory to take away pilot rights or to harass pilots who are conducting normal flight operations," said Phil Boyer, AOPA president (pictured below, right).

TSA has assured AOPA that pilots conducting operations to or from airports close to these facilities will not be considered loitering. "However, pilots circling as to loiter in the vicinity of these facilities or using the nuclear plants for the purpose of ground reference maneuvers would certainly be questioned," a TSA official said.

ANN Note: Folks... a lot of this depends on the whims and decisions of the TSA... an organization that has done little to convince the pilot community that it is keeping our interests in mind or that it even knows what the heck it is doing -- aviation-wise. God help us...--Jim Campbell--ANN E-I-C

!FDC 3/1655 FDC ...SPECIAL NOTICE... FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, PURSUANT TO 14 CFR SECTION 99.7, SPECIAL SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS, PILOTS CONDUCTING FLIGHT OPERATIONS WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL AIRSPACE OF THE U.S. ARE ADVISED TO AVOID THE AIRSPACE ABOVE OR IN PROXIMITY TO ALL NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. PILOTS SHOULD NOT CIRCLE OR LOITER IN THE VICINITY OF SUCH FACILITIES. PILOTS WHO DO SO CAN EXPECT TO BE INTERVIEWED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL AT THEIR DESTINATION AIRPORT AND THE PILOT'S NAME MAY BE ADDED TO THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA) INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.tsa.gov