TknoFlyer's Hangar

ADIZ Pilot Shaeffer Loses Certificate

You may recall the headlines back on May 11, 2005.  CBS News characterized it as a "terrifying" ordeal for Capitol Hill staffers as the Capitol, Supreme Court and White House were evacuated.  The cause?  A small 2-seat airplane penetrated the DC ADIZ (air defense identification zone) and flew within a few miles of the Capitol and White House.  This plane weighs less than 3/4 ton and carries a mere 26 gallons of fuel when fully loaded.  It's not exactly the plane I would choose for mischief were I so inclined.

Today we learned the FAA conducted an "emergency revocation" of the certificate of the pilot of that plane, Hayden "Jim" Shaeffer.  This was also the day Shaeffer released a statement via his lawyer.  The Associated Press got its story wrong, however, by referencing Troy Martin, the other occupant of the plane, as "Shaeffer's student".  Shaeffer doesn't have an instructor rating according to FAA records.

Anyway, the FAA took this action because Shaeffer "constitutes an unacceptable risk to safety in air commerce."  Harsh words.  Were they adequate?  Let's review what happened.

The Washington Post created a graphic that shows Shaeffer's flight path.  I've taken that graphic and overlaid it on an image of the Washington DC Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).  (Click the thumbnail for the full size graphic.)

When this first happened, I wasn't sure what to make of it.  On the one hand, I happen to fly from Leesburg, VA (KJYO) which lies within the ADIZ.  I've had to deal with this abomination since its inception.  In fact, I received my instrument rating shortly after it went into effect when all traffic in the airspace had to be on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan.  I tried to temper my reaction to Shaeffer's flight with the knowledge that transient pilots may not have nearly the level of familiarity with the ADIZ that we local pilots have.  But let's take a look at what Shaeffer has to say about this incident.

First, they set set the stage that they're "just simple small town folk".  I can relate to small town folk.  I happen to come from Smalltown America.  Shaeffer's statement says that before the flight he checked the weather and Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) that would have described the DC ADIZ.  The Associated Press reports the FAA says he didn't.  I know the NOTAMs are hard to read as they come out in ALLCAPS and they consume many pages of 10-point Courier text.  They're hard to read and don't always make sense.

However, the DC ADIZ is not a new situation.  It's been here for a few years now (certainly stretching my definition of the "temporary" in "temporary flight restriction").  It's charted on navigation charts.  AOPA and EAA have made extraordinary efforts to inform their constituents of the restrictions.  I have little tolerance for any pilot in the US, much less the East Coast, claiming ignorance of the ADIZ.

Here's what Shaeffer had to say:

AOPA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, has charts of the ADIZ (in fact, that's where I got the chart used in the composite image above) as well as educational material specifically dealing with the DC ADIZ.  They've done everything that could be reasonably expected to educate pilots about the airspace restrictions around Washington.  Yet we're to believe Shaeffer somehow missed that from AOPA's web site.

Shaeffer claims they were trying to avoid the prohibited airspace around Camp David.  For those not familiar with the area or with aviation, this piece of airspace is known as P-40 and is either five miles or 10 miles in diameter depending on whether somebody of importance is spending the night there.  P-40 is a few miles East of Hagerstown, MD and is the small white circle in the upper left corner of the graphic shown above.  Shaeffer and Martin took off from an airport near Lancaster, PA and their destination was Lumberton, NC.  Lancaster is located several miles above the word "zone" in the black box in the graphic. 

Shaeffer says:

If one were to fly a straight line from Lancaster to Lumberton, it would take you right over Baltimore and Washington, DC.  You'll notice from the graphic they entered the ADIZ north of Baltimore - almost right on the direct track from Lancaster to Lumberton.  They had no need to worry about P-40 unless they were tracking some 50 miles West of their course.  I'm not buying their claim of a "more than anticipated southerly route". 

You'll notice their flight path circumvented much of the Baltimore Class B airspace.  Ordinarily, this would allow them to maintain a higher altitude without having to talk to air traffic control (ATC).  However, since the ADIZ extends to the outer limits of the Class B airspace in that area, they were required to talk to ATC, anyway.  My point here is they obviously knew how to avoid the Baltimore Class B airspace, but somehow expect me to believe they got lost in the ADIZ.

Then they say the Blackhawk helicopter flown by the US Customs Service for intercepting ADIZ violators showed up holding a sign with a radio frequency to be used.  Their statement doesn't mention the radio frequency discussed, but the most likely one is 121.5MHz, the "emergency" or "guard" frequency.  This is the frequency pilots are supposed to tune in during a military intercept regardless of the ADIZ.  This frequency is also monitored by nearly all ATC and military facilities as an emergency channel.  If you ever find yourself in trouble in an airplane, dial up 121.5 on the radio and say "Help".  I guarantee if you're more than a couple hundred feet in the air, somebody will hear you and respond.

Yet Shaeffer says he was unable to raise the Blackhawk on the indicated frequency even though their radio was working since they'd been monitoring other aircraft during their flight.  (Later reports confirmed that frequency was being used at the time by an emergency locater transmitter in the area.  That would have prevented communications between Shaeffer and the Blackhawk.)  The Blackhawk crew gave him a second frequency to try and they failed to connect there, as well.

While all this was going on, Martin continued flying on his intended course to Lumberton and consequently entered an even more restrictive airspace called the Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ).  About this time, the F-16's from Andrews Air Force Base arrived to drop flares in front of Shaeffer and Martin.  I find it stretches credulity to think it took a pair of fighter jets to convince Shaeffer and Martin to alter course.

They were able to skirt the Baltimore Class B but somehow failed to realize they'd entered the DC Class B, eh?  It took turning 90 degrees to realize "Oh, @#$%!  That's downtown Washington!"  This plane doesn't travel all that fast.  Even with the distraction of a helicopter bigger than the airplane shouldn't have kept Schaeffer, flying since 1969, from recognizing his location.  I have to wonder if the Blackhawk pilot felt almost like he was hovering compared to the speed he used to intercept the intruder.

Shaeffer and Martin did all of us General Aviation pilots a huge disfavor with this incident.  I find it beyond ridiculous for them to ask us to believe they did not know where they were.  How's that old tune go?  "We are poor little lambs, who have lost our way"? 

Sorry.  No sale.  Shaeffer is lucky to have gotten only a revocation of his certificate.  With 30 hours of flight time in his logbook, Troy Martin should have the skills to navigate successfully - especially if either of them had a handheld GPS device. 

At best they showed extremely poor judgement.  At worst, they shouldn't be flying with navigation skills so poor they had to turn 90 degrees to visually identify their position.