Other Shoe Drops...

As we predicted; a whole raft of new restrictions are coming down the line for aviation as America goes to war... a half a world away.

ANN learned yesterday afternoon that the security threat level was to be raised as President Bush addressed the nation, from "Yellow" to "Orange." And, that happened. With that, the FAA and TSA have imposed new airspace restrictions on the New York City and Washington, D.C., areas. NOTAMS implementing the restrictions are being published and pilots are URGED to check them prior to ANY flight.

NYC Joins The ADIZ Club

New York will get an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) within the Mode C veil (30-nm radius of Kennedy, Newark, and La Guardia airports), while the flight plan requirement has been reinstated for operations within the Washington-area ADIZ. Approved based pilots flying to the "DC-3" airports (Hyde Field, Potomac, and College Park airports) must once again clear security at a gateway airport, this time Tipton Airport (FME).

For both New York and Washington, the ADIZ extends from the surface to 18,000 feet agl. In order to operate within either ADIZ, pilots must file a flight plan (IFR or VFR), obtain a discrete transponder code, and be in communications with air traffic control. Pilots must continue to squawk that discrete code until clear of the ADIZ or until the wheels touch the runway.

The New York ADIZ will affect 27 public-use facilities (see list), including Essex County (CDW), Central Jersey Regional (47N), Republic (FRG), Westchester County (HPN), and Morristown (MMU). AOPA has compiled a list of contact telephone numbers and radio frequencies for pilots to obtain their clearances (if required) and discrete transponder codes for ADIZ operations. The list is seen below.

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