Posted on 05/25/2005 9:19:16 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
By Spencer S. Hsu and John Mintz Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, May 25, 2005; Page A01
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave military officials the authority to shoot down, if necessary, a small plane that wandered into restricted airspace over the nation's capital May 11, according to two senior federal officials.
For 11 intense minutes, customs aircraft and military fighter jets tried to intercept the Cessna 150 and determine whether the pilots were confused and lost or were targeting Washington. Military officials never deemed the aircraft to be hostile, but White House and U.S. Capitol officials grew more concerned as it flew within three miles of the executive mansion.
The plane, one of the federal officials said, came within "15 to 20 seconds" of being downed before its pilots finally heeded repeated orders to turn away from the city.
The new details, also corroborated yesterday by a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on events, came as U.S. military and homeland security officials review the effectiveness of an air defense system established for the Washington area after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because much of the air defense system is classified.
As authorities piece together the lessons of the scare -- described by some officials as the closest the government has come to downing a civilian plane over Washington since Sept. 11, 2001 -- they are confronting sensitive issues involving split-second decisions, communications and the federal chain of command.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Is Rumsfeld planning to A-OK the blowing up of any truck greater than 2 tons that enters the Washington DC area? These trucks are more of a threat than Cessnas with a 500 pound carrying capacity.
Don't worry. The gallant flyboy has been strutting his "right stuff" on the news/talk show circuit.
Is that legal now? (I am making reference to GA generally, not this particular flight). In the past, the FAA would not have permitted a pilot to make navigational decisions based on a consumer device like that, although he could have carried one for confirmation. (a lot could have changed in the 15 years I have been away).
I guess you haven't seen him on TV yet.
I'm sorry that you feel intimidated.
The President made the call, and that was to delegate the decision to his authorized agent, Secretary Rumsfeld.
That's how things are supposed to work, IMHO.
'I've got a problem with the SecDef approving this....it should be the President's call.'
Why? He is the first civilian in the CofC. And the only one besides the President.
Yeah. . .they scare me to death. . *snicker*
Sec. Rumsfeld denies the Times report.
hehe ;-)
Oh. . .great. . now you got me giggling like a little girl
;-)
Very rare to find a private pilot, especially two inexperienced ones, who are familiar with military intercept proceedures. They DID try to communicate on 121.5 & another freq, to no avail (not their fault). Sure, they screwed up, but it should not have been the big deal it became.
Well, VFR pilots are supposed to use sectional charts for pilotage, but GPS makes it so damned simple. Not illegal for VFR flight, but a cautious pilot would use both. Cutting corners is something we all do every day, rarely does it bite you in the arse.
Wasn't one a Instructor Pilot and the other his student?
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