Not Another Washington Debacle...

Prior to implementation of New York City's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) last week, EAA and the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) got together with FAA and TSA officials, hoping to prevent the kinds of implementation and operational problems pilots experienced with the Baltimore-Washington area ADIZ. At first blush, it doesn't seem to be working.

So Far, It's Not Working

A lot of pilots flying in the New York area report serious difficulties with the FAA's handling of the intended procedures. EAA and NAFI members have identified a number of specific concerns affecting flight operations in the New York area and particularly with the vibrant flight training community at Republic Field (FRG) on Long Island.

As a result, the two organizations have made specific recommendations to senior FAA air traffic officials in Washington (DC) to improve operational efficiency and airspace access going into the weekend.

No VFR Plans Accepted?

NAFI Master Instructor Phil Poynor, Chief Instructor at the Nassau Flyers flight school based at FRG, explained that much of the confusion is stemming from an apparent failure of the air traffic computers to accept VFR flight plans. Thus, word was spread by air traffic and flight service personnel that the FAA was only accepting IFR flight plans, overloading the system and keeping many flight training operations on the ground. Other confusion and delays stemmed from controllers' erroneous attempts to assign altitude blocks to GA flights, which quickly saturated the airspace from an IFR positive control perspective. EAA and NAFI are urging FAA to reorient their controllers to focus on providing VFR clearances and flight following services only rather than treating each operation as an IFR flight under positive airspace control and separation.

EAA and NAFI say they will will remain in contact with senior air traffic officials throughout the weekend in an ongoing effort to address operational concerns in both the Washington and New York restricted airspaces.

FMI: www.eaa.org