How in the heck did your friend get those? My understanding is that BP has made this a “no-fly” zone and the gov’t. goes along with it. Reporters have been arrested in LA, video cams confiscated....how did he/she manage this? Wow!
(Once you see the pics, you know why they want to keep fly overs forbidden, though I’ve read of other reasons, too.)
You'd think this was the Soviet Union during Chernobyl.
The temporary flight restriction (TFR) over the Deepwater Horizon spill area only goes from sea level up to 3000 feet. If the plane was over 3000 feet, they were perfectly legal to fly over the spill. And I believe that it is legal to fly in the restricted area under 3000 feet *if* the plane’s filed a flight plan, gets permission from the government, and is under air traffic control.
The TFR was (allegedly) put in place to restrict the amount of low-flying non-spill-related planes and helicopters in the area and cut down the risk of a mid-air collision. If they wanted to really ban coverage of how bad the spill is, they’d have to extend the TFR above 3000 feet, up to, say, 18,000 feet (the maximum altitude you can fly without being under air traffic control) and they’d have to reroute any jet routes that fly over the area. And even then...how do you hide THAT?
}:-)4
Got Links?
My understanding is that BP has made this a “no-fly” zone and the gov’t. goes along with it.
Could be that the area is extremely dangerous.
Gas pockets can knock-out airplane engines among other things.