ADIZ Violation Explained in AOPA Magazine

The current issue of AOPA Pilot has a fascinating article about the two
pilots (one certificated, one student) who penetrated the Washington ADIZ
last spring, and brought the wrath of the government down upon us all.

What struck me was the entirely casual way in which it all happened. Troy
Martin (the student) and Jim Sheaffer (the 70 year old pilot -- NOT a flight
instructor, as some had reported) had met completely by chance at an airport
function, and become friends just a week before the flight. Martin had 30
hours of training, and was coming up on his long cross-country flights -- so
when he heard that Sheaffer was planning a long flight from their base in
Lancaster, PA to a North Carolina fly-in, he inquired about tagging along.

Thus began the most atrociously influential ADIZ bust since 9/11.

It truly was a comedy of errors in many ways. Thanks to the stupid AD
against allowing cigarette lighters in Cessna 150s, the lighter had been
disconnected in the rental plane they flew. Without on-board power,
Sheaffer left his GPS in the truck. They didn't get a weather briefing
because of construction in the terminal building that prevented them from
getting into the lounge where the phone was located. The weather was CAVU,
so they just skipped it.

Then the helicopter that initially intercepted them could not communicate on
civilian frequencies, so our wayward pilots didn't know what they wanted
them to do. A simple "Follow me" sign would have solved the problem almost
instantly -- but the crew in the Blackhawk had no such sign.

Finally, the F-16s that intercepted them broke off in two different
directions in front of the 150. If they had broken in the *same* direction,
Martin (who was flying) would have followed them. But they didn't, and he
didn't know what to do, or which way to turn.

Of course, the most incredible thing of all is that Sheaffer (the
certificated one) simply didn't know there was an ADIZ over Washington. He
was clearly not an active pilot (among other things, he was busted for
carrying a passenger more than 90 days after his last flight, and it had
been 20 years since his last cross-country flight), and he clearly hadn't
been following events since 9/11. It's hard to feel sorry for such
ignorance -- especially when it harmed us all so severely -- but I found
myself thinking about all the 70 year-old pilots that hang out at my
airport, and I realized that it could have easily happened to many of them.

Strangely, when I was a student I made an almost identical flight with an
older pilot. He was not a very active pilot, and -- although we didn't
manage to get *too* lost -- he clearly wasn't on the navigational ball, any
more than Sheaffer was. Of course, my flight took place in Wisconsin, in
the pre-9/11 world, and the worst thing that happened to us was "kissing"
the edge of Class D before realizing where we were. No harm, no foul, for
us.

Not so for these guys -- or all you folks back east.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"