Robert J. Chassell wrote:
> Right now, in the US, all airplanes are banned from "enhanced Class B
> airspace", except for those airplanes that are on a flight plan, under
> ATC radio control, and showing an assigned radar transponder code.
Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> responded:
So, in order to accomplish a WTC like stunt, all they'd have to do is
pick a plane which was going to Newark airport, and hijack it just
before its final landing approach, overfly the airport, and proceed to
Manhattan, right?
Yes, if they have the time.
I don't see how this can have much effect against intelligent
terrorists.
It takes time to take over an airplane -- fight people, pull the
pilots out of their seats, and start flying. I think the hope is that
air traffic control would figure out something was amiss and ask
fighters to intercept the aircraft before it was crashed into another
target.
On the other hand, as far as I can see, the argument for lack of time
is why Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC is closed. The
normal landing path from the north comes close to both the CIA
headquarters and the Pentagon. Or perhaps the fear is that someone
could hijack an aircraft on or before takeoff and fly it directly into
one or other building.
But someone could do this from a New Jersey or New York, too. It may
simply be that the decision making people in Washington think that the
Pentagon, CIA headquarters, White House, and Capitol building are more
important than anything in New York or New Jersey and should be
subject to less risk.
Incidentally, I finally figured out why airplanes like mine are banned
from New York and Washington, DC. Earlier, I pointed out that they
are "too small to cause a huge amount of damage when they crash" and
suggested that maybe my little airplane was simply in the same legal
category as much larger jets. That was wrong.
The fear has been that someone will take a small airplane and use it
to spread anthrax over a city. Hence the ban, reimposed just for
yesterday, on any crop dusting flight (any aircraft "capable or
equipped for agricultural operations"), and the ban, now lifted for
areas outside of big cities, on student solo flights.
--
Robert J. Chassell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Rattlesnake Enterprises http://www.rattlesnake.com
