Posted on 05/23/2005 7:04:43 AM PDT by IFly4Him
"We are mere private citizens from a small Pennsylvania town who have found ourselves thrust into the national spotlight after an unplanned and unintentional brush with local, state and federal authorities, during what was meant to be an uneventful flight from Lancaster to Lumberton, North Carolina. In an effort to help everyone understand what happened during this incident, the following is a recounting of those events associated with our flight on Wednesday, May 11, 2005. "In preparation for our upcoming flight, on the evening before departure, we consulted several current weather maps and sectional maps of Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina.
"The morning of the flight, Jim as the pilot in command, once again checked various weather websites on his home computer for the flight area and consulted the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) website, looking for Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR). We were not required to file a flight plan because we were going to be using visual flight rules (VFR) for our journey.
"Jim conducted a thorough pre-flight inspection of the airplane, a Cessna 150, its communication devices and navigational devices and filled it with fuel prior to departure.
"We agreed that Jim, as the pilot in command, would supervise the flight while Troy would fly the airplane, which he did during the entire flight.
"In an effort to be extra careful, and wishing to avoid the restricted area of Camp David during our flight, we over compensated by taking a more than anticipated southerly route, which consequently caused us to infringe upon the Washington, D.C., restricted zones.
"After an undetermined amount of time, a Blackhawk helicopter appeared off to the right side of our airplane and attempted to communicate with us using a hand-held sign indicating the emergency radio frequency we were to use to receive instructions. Although our radio had been working during the flight, which we know, because we were able to monitor other aircraft communications, we were unable to communicate with the Blackhawk helicopter on the frequency indicated. A helicopter crew member used hand signals to indicate a second frequency option. We tuned to that frequency, identified our aircraft, and requested further instructions. We received no response on either of the indicated frequencies despite repeated attempts by both of us. The helicopter then disappeared off to the right and within a short time thereafter, two F-16 fighter planes appeared and began making repeated passes. After making several passes, the F-16 planes dropped warning flares.
"In response to the dropped flares, we made a 90-degree turn to the right to a westerly direction. At this point, for the first time, we were able to visually identify our location as being in a Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ). Once again, a helicopter appeared, whereupon we were then able to establish two-way radio communication on the original emergency frequency that we had been instructed by placard to use by the first helicopter crew. We were then instructed to stay on our current heading and proceed to the Frederick, Md., airport, where we landed safely and were subsequently met by representatives from civil, state and federal authorities and agencies. We were treated exceptionally well and proper, and with great courtesy after we explained what had happened.
"On a personal note, we would like to sincerely thank everyone for their prayers and their expressions of concern for us with regard to this incident. We very sincerely regret all of the disruption that this event has caused for so many people in our nation's capital."
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Jim Sheaffer, 69, retired, is a licensed pilot residing with his wife, Joyce, in Lititz, PA. Troy Martin, 36, is a local business owner and student pilot with 30 hours of flight time who lives in Akron, PA, with his wife Jill and two young sons.
Both men are active in their communities and belong to the Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 540 as well as the Vintage Aero Club.
A principal in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Joseph, McDermott & Reiner, P.C., Mark T. McDermott is engaged in general practice with an emphasis on litigation, aviation law, and pilot medical certification. Previously, he served as an attorney with the Federal Aviation Administration. He is past president of the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association and currently serves as the association's Vice President. McDermott has been retained by Jim Sheaffer to represent him in the FAA's investigation of this matter.
We're dumbasses.
ping
They're damn lucky they weren't shot out of the air.
If it was me, i would have kept my mouth shut!
Youre the blameless deity Ive heard so much about
Thank you for your Atoning sacrifice on the Cross for our sins past present and future
Regards to your Father and the Holy Ghost (sarcasm)
Seems like an easy set of circumstances to get into.
I wonder why the radio frequencies didn't work the first time.
Newsweek is reporting that the interrogators put their Flight Manual in the toilet.
OK - these guys honestly screwed up.
However - reading this makes me wonder why we can't use some of these resources (Blackhawks etc.) to protect our borders (southern in particular) from a known threat?
I had read an earlier report that claimed one of the pilots totally froze up (in fear?)so the other had to do all the work.
That was funny! There'll be pilot riots in small Pennsylvania towns.
The designation of the aircraft, C-150, may tell the story here. That's old. Very old. The new Cessna equivalent is C-152 and has been for a very long time.
I suspect this aircraft had minimum instrumentation. Certainly not GPS or anything capable of giving a preprogrammed warning of the restricted area. These guys were relying on maps and looking for landmarks in an unfamiliar area.
Their mistake was in underestimating the difficulty identifying landmarks in a huge metropolitan area. That was a mistake made before leaving the ground and it's not a big one. It's a small one that became big through mostly bad luck. Recognize that they could have drifted off course 10's of miles in any other direction and we would never have heard of them. It's an odd truth of low altitude flying that the less developed the area, the easier it is to visually navigate.
The old guy should have his ticket pulled and he'll probably agree. The young guy is a student and by regulation pretty much none of this is his fault. He will have gained better experience from this than any other student at 30 hrs.
And that it was the private pilot (the older guy) that froze up, and the student pilot who kept his head (somewhat) and flew the plane. Exactly the reverse of what you'd expect.
I was in DC a couple of days after this, and heard on the Chris Core show that Mr. Sheaffer will be paying a hefty civil fine, getting his ticket pulled for five years, and after that, if he wants his license back, he'll have to begin all over again as a student pilot. The student pilot was not legally responsible so he gets off easier...although I'd hate to see what his private pilot FAA checkride will look like. Think he'll get lots of questions on chart-reading to avoid restricted airspace, and TFRs?
}:-)4
I'm not buying it.
This is a prime example of how important NOTAMs & TFRs are.
I wonder if the next microsoft 200X flight sim will include restricted airspace, with simulated jets shooting you down if you don't obey? hehehe
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