Posted on 05/13/2005 2:03:47 AM PDT by LukeSW
Aero-Views: Shame On All Of You
Fri, 13 May '05
No Heroes In ADIZ Incursion
By ANN Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose" O'Brien
I wasn't flying Wednesday when the city of Washington went into a massive, hyperventilating panic over a light plane in the ADIZ; I was driving the highways, and I got to hear the blow-by-blow on the radio and in periodic phone calls with ANN's Pete Combs. Good grief, what a shameful episode. There's enough shame to go around. Indeed, there are no heroes in this tawdry tale of ADIZ incursion, but there's a whole gaggle of goats:
Shame On The Security Establishment
..in the first place, for being unable to distinguish between a real threat and a bogus one. The physics of the Cessna 150 make it an improbable terror weapon. Indeed, we have an incident to show us that a Cessna 150 is not much threat to the White House. In 1994, a suicidal nutball tried to kamikaze the steel-and-concrete-reinforced landmark, and left an unsightly black smear on the wall and a divot out of the lawn -- who are we looking out for with all this panic, the groundskeepers?
A Cessna 150 does not a warplane make. But steeped in the shibboleths of relativism and egalitarian ignorance, security managers prescribe the same frantic reaction, as if it were some kind of anti-Newtonian universe: "For every action, an identical and hyperbolic overreaction."
The mighty 150 has a gross weight of 1,500 to 1,600 lbs, or about half the weight of a compact car. Even a 172 is lighter gross than the empty weight of my 1965 mustang (~2,500), which is pretty light by new-car standards. I think a typical Camry or similar vehicle is about 3,800 lb. You just can't do a lot of damage with 2,000 lbs unless it's all explosives... I know a little about blowing things up, and served for 25 years alongside the guys with the equivalent of a PhD in blowing things up, the 12BS and 18C demo men of the Army Special Forces. If we can't figure out how to destroy a big, strong building with a Cessna 150, and we can't, it's a pretty safe bet that Osama or whoever can't do it either: he puts on his baggy pants one leg at a time.
Then, there's the whole question of, "what about the building?" The White House is no stranger to hard times, having been burnt to a shell by a British raiding party on August 25, 1814 (the only surviving fixture from before 1814 is a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington which was secured by a fleeing Dolly Madison). The West Wing burned again in 1929. Yet the building endures. The walls are made of the original stone, reinforced during a 1948-52 renovation with concrete and structural steel, and light GA aircraft are not going to move them. QED. Most other public buildings in Washington are equally robust -- compare the damage and death toll at the Pentagon to that in New York. Or take a good look at the J. Edger Hoover building sometime.
Shame On Our National Leaders
...for not facing the risk (if any?) like grown men. A lot of the current security nonsense has come about because of the physical and even moral cowardice of our current crop of national leaders. If we are "a nation of laws, not of men," why are some men so demanding of special protection?
Our Government is predicated on the idea that no man is divine or irreplaceable. Our Constitution has been frequently amended to ensure that suitable procedures are in place to ensure an orderly succcession and continuity of government.
Apart from the troubling moral issues raised by special privileges for the Washington elite, there are practical issues involved in hasty and ill-advised evacuations like the one we've just seen. I've looked at several airline incidents that rose to the level of accident only when the crew made a judgment call to order an evacuation, and passengers were injured in the evacuation.
Why injure people unnecessarily, when few people are likely to be injured in the extremely unlikely event the worst-case scenario comes to pass, but some people are likely to be injured in a needless evacuation?
Shame On The News Media
I was able to hear the audio from the White House Press Room, and boy howdy, it was a pitiful display. Screaming, and yelling, and blubbering and carrying on. A most unseemly display, but then the most fitting 19th Century word for concept that's defined by the 21st Century word "metrosexual" is probably "poltroon."
The every-man-for-himself-and-devil-take-the-hindmost stampede for the exits was unseemly, unsurprising, and, as noted above, unsafe. You are much safer staying in the building during the attack than bolting for the exit, where you might be trodden under by Helen Thomas or somebody.
I always figured most news people would be no earthly use in a crisis (real, or as in this case, imagined) and now I have my proof.
Shame On The Men In The Plane
You didn't think I was going to let these two clowns off, did you? I mean, I fly in Boston and I know about the ADIZ. My friends in Florida and California know about the ADIZ. According to a family member, the unlucky pilots knew about the ADIZ, but they blundered into it anyway.
Research in the human behavioral subset of "being lost" has shown that humans, when confused about location, will seldom if ever backtrack to the last known location and try again -- even though that method, logically, offers a good chance of success. Instead they will press on forward -- pretty much in whatever direction they happen to be pointing -- for good or for ill. The only antidote to this deeply ingrained behavior, since one can't grab his hippocampus and shake some sense into it, is to have a plan and conscious procedures for safe recovery to a known point when mislocated.
Many people will focus on the instructor, and as the more experienced pilot and authority figure, he's definitely where the buck stops. The FAA will probably recognize this with a certificate suspension or even revocation (since the violation wasn't willful, revocation would be out of line. But the security organs will want their pound of flesh). I hope the instructor subscribed to AOPAs Legal Services Plan.
But the student also deserves a share of the blame. By the time you're doing ambitious cross-countries, you need to have a baseline level of situational awareness. A student can't just ride on the instructor's ticket (even if that is how the FAA sees it, in legal terms). He holds a ticket inscribed not pilot student but student pilot -- the first is the adjective, the second the noun. Students shouldn't be constantly in their instructors' faces, but they should be willing to speak up. Many an airliner has come to grief because a doubting FO held his tongue. If there was ever a place to indulge in bumper sticker behavior, the cockpit is where you "Speak truth to power" and "Question Authority."
These two men had a very unpleasant day, and they have more hard times ahead. But they were lucky; they very nearly died. If the fighter pilots had been what the Air Force calls "fangs out", this whole story would be ten times worse. The 150 pilots will live to fly again -- and one hopes, to enjoy flight again.
One Organization Reacted Credibly
After all this ranting, I ought to close on a positive note -- and there is one to be found. Despite all the things that COULD have gone wrong, the air defense organization reacted with as much restraint as alacrity. If the military and DHS intercept crews hadn't been at the top of their game, if the controllers hadn't been alert, God alone knows what might have happened. These disciplined men and women are trapped in a bad system that's not of their making, but they still performed like a symphony orchestra with Beethoven Himself conducting.
How fortunate we are that you are not in charge of anything to do with Homeland Security and the other involved agencies.
Then the author says this:
"The physics of the Cessna 150 make it an improbable terror weapon. Indeed, we have an incident to show us that a Cessna 150 is not much threat to the White House. In 1994, a suicidal nutball tried to kamikaze the steel-and-concrete-reinforced landmark, and left an unsightly black smear on the wall and a divot out of the lawn -- who are we looking out for with all this panic, the groundskeepers?"
Well, hell, what BETTER reason to use this as a weapons carrier then the fact it seems so inappropriate. This guy seems to think the way it will occur will be a huge jetliner with Osama's face on the lower wing surfaces and red arrows pointing to lettering that says "DEATH TO THE BIG SATAN-NUCLEAR BOMB HERE"
If it had been up to me that Cessna would have been nothing but match sticks and melted plastic after it failed to respond to the third radio call. The idiot instructor, who is SUPPOSED to be able to read a chart should have his ticket pulled permanently and be made to pay a HUGE fine.
True, a radio controlled "whatever" would have worked nicely..
I think the way Homeland Security handled it was just fine. In this day and age of suicide bombers, you simply can't assume that the pilot of the Cessna made a "mistake".
Your wife has good instincts. IMO it is very possible this was a security test, especially since the pilot was released and not charged with at least being ignorant of the law. The reaction to the alarm has to be instructive no matter whether the incident was planned or accidental.
Most any aircraft will take off with significantly more than the legal gross weight if the air is cool and/or a headwind at takeoff roll exists and/or the runway is long. The key is keeping the CG at close to the right place. No terrorist is going to be concerned with FAA legal gross. Alaska bush planes get away with outrageous loads at times.
Reposted FYI. Construction of original bomb shelter at White House (I don't have current information and it is probably classified):
Found a reference concerning the original construction of the bomb shelter. Definitely was designed to protect against blast overpressure from a air burst in the D.C. area, but a direct detonation of a thermonuclear device? Even with subsequent improvements, I don't think so. The occupants would be vaporized.
This double-layer of stub girders shown in the White House reconstruction (1948-52) appears to fit the description of the top of a double-layered bomb shelter:
"We stopped all building in Washington when we built this bomb shelter. We took all the concrete and steel there was in Washington. These walls have three feet of concrete and steel; the top has three feet of concrete and steel, a space of three feet, then another three feet of concrete and steel." I went in it. This motor is supposed to filter this air for 48 hours to take care of 200 people. -- Ted J. Sanders
"Over the years, there have been several additions made to the main building, including the west wing (1902), the east wing (1942), and a penthouse and a bomb shelter (1952). The west wing, which contains the president's oval office and the offices of his staff, is the center of activity at the White House. During Harry Truman's presidency, from Dec. 1948 to March 1952, the interior of the White House was rebuilt, and the outer walls were strengthened. Nevertheless, the exterior stone walls are the same ones that were first put in place when the White House was constructed two centuries ago." -- Department of the Interior, U.S. National Park Service via Infoplease.
131 posted on 05/12/2005 10:12:18 AM PDT by BearWash
http://eyeball.sabotage.org/prezsec/pict422.jpg
Maybe you and your brother ought to buy advanced navigation avionics for all the poor 150 pilots in the world.
Here's the rule, people:
DO NOT FLY OVER WASHINGTON DC
You want to change the rule? Good luck.
You want to break the rule? Good luck.
All else is wasted words. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda.
Maybe those poor pilots of the world can look up the NOTAMS (notices to airmen) themselves. NOTAM notification is FREE!
We can add to the list ...
DO NOT FLY OVER SENSITIVE MILITARY FACILITIES
... READ the bloody NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen)
I agree, there is no excuse for the incursion.
What on earth were they smoking?
I simply have to believe they were testing the waters re: gathering information on how we respond to a terrorist threat.
"Science Fiction?" "Several Hundred Pounds?"
Boy, glad we have so many "experts" around here.
Mayhaps you should go back and check my post #58?
And while you are at it, here are a few more sites to check out:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/russia/suitcase/comments.html
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/DoSuitcaseNukesExist.html
http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/040213.htm
Yes, this may be nothing but "science fiction;" just one big "Global Conspiracy of Lies." Then on the other hand . . . . .
BTW, here are the stats on the 150:
Weight
empty : 501kg (1,100lb)
max : 757kg (1,670lb)
That leaves 570 lbs.
If one considers (depending on where it took of from) that 5 Gal of avgas (approx 30 lbs) would probably get it (@ 100 mph and a rate of fuel of approx 6/gal/hr) some 90 miles. And if you add the rate of a small person (approx 150 lbs) that leaves room (570 lbs - 180 lbs) for a 390 lb bomb--and that does not even take into account, stripping the plane.
VERY possible to get 500 lbs of high explosives on board--even if one discounts all other scenarios: biological, nuclear, dirty bomb.
Glad you and so many are nonchalant about this!
No one's nonchalant. I just think the action taken here, F16s and all, ended up being the exact right call.
I don't know. I haven't flown in ten years, but even without looking at fancy cockpit displays or NOTAMs I would know enough not to go near D.C.
Regardless of what mode would be used ot would be devistating to whatever area it effected
The Media is using this whole situtation as a backboard in which to try and knuckle The President into screwing up it just proves they are desperate and getting moreso every day !
>>I was flying with my brother in his Cessna Citation on our way to Cabo and the lcd screen in the instrument panel showed the boundaries of these areas extremely clearly.<<
Not really needed unless you are flying at 45,000 feet over unremarkable desert. I would think that under 10,000 feet over Washington DC the equipment would be unnecessary. A simple human brain would suffice.
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