do not seem to be properly registered with the FAA.
N4610 is an excelllent case in point.
It showed up involved in an attempted coup against the president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. The State Department adamantly and repeatedly disavowed all knowledge of this mission and insisted that the plane was NOT a US plane. The FAA records said otherwise.
Then it turned out that the former Air Nationa Guard plane 83-4610 has been "sold" to a company that is a known CIA front.
That simple fact explained why the FAA had not pulled the registration for that plane after it defaulted on its registration obligations.
The Cessna later landed at a small airport in Frederick, Md., where officials said
the pilot reported his radio was not working. Police said the club had not authorized the pilot to use the Cessna.
<snip>
Washington’s Reagan National Airport has been closed to general aviation since the Sept. 11 attacks. In the 3½ years since then,
hundreds of small planes have flown within the restricted airspace around the capital — a 15¾-mile radius around the Washington Monument.
However, it’s rare for fighter jets to be scrambled. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ID/7817210/You say thay these gentlemen were probably interrogated. I think not.
There were not striped naked nor were they intimdated by dogs nor were any electrical devices attached to any part of their bodies. I think they were simply hugged and petted and shown a lot of love.
IOKIYR.
:grouphug:
I agree that a privately owned Cessna would probably only ever need a Mode C transponder, however, the transponder number given by the FAA is 51700207. According to the FAA database, that is the Mode S Code.
Q: 2. How much weight can a Cessna 150-152 carry?
A:The Short Answer: Between 400 and 500 pounds.
The Longer Answer: .....Subtract that from the useful load, and now we have 344 lbs available as "payload". The FAA considers that the average person weighs 170lbs, so that leaves room for exactly two average persons.
Of course in the modern world, many of us weigh more than 170lbs. For a solo pilot, this won't be a problem unless he or she weighs more than 344 lbs. If that's the case, he or she likely won't be able to fit in the airplane in the first place, so we can stop worrying about that. ....
Of course in the modern world, many of us weigh more than 170lbs. For a solo pilot, this won't be a problem unless he or she weighs more than 344 lbs. If that's the case, he or she likely won't be able to fit in the airplane in the first place, so we can stop worrying about that. The baggage area on most 150-152's can hold up to 120 lbs, which turns out to be really a lot of stuff. The baggage area is quite large on these airplanes ( big enough to hold an extra seat with a child weighing up to 110 lbs! ) For regular baggage ( clothes, snacks, etc) there is both enough room and weight capacity for a solo pilot unless you happen to be traveling with your bowling ball collection.
The problem arises when we add a passenger. Let's assume that we have a typical couple, a female pilot weighing 130 lbs, and her male passenger weighing 190 lbs. Since their combined weight is 320 lbs, each would be able to bring along a suitcase weighing up to 11 lbs. If the people weigh more than that, or they need to carry more baggage, the only option is to carry less fuel. With full fuel the airplane can safely fly for about 3 hours*.
*fuel endurance is highly dependant on both pilot technique and environmental conditions. The figures quoted are averages, and not to be used for flight planning. Your mileage will vary.
http://www.cessna150-152.com/faqs/performance.htmFrom what I have seen so far,
each of those men appears to be over 170 pounds.
We have been told that the qualified one needed assistance in operating the fuel pump and we have been informed that it was the student who was doing the actual flying. We are further told that the men insisted on flying THROUGH the restricted airspace.
That means these boys were really well,
clueless. and were risking running out of fuel.
Thursday, May 12, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
Authorities said the plane's occupants were so clueless that when officials finally
made radio contact and ordered the plane to divert, the fliers refused, asserting their right to proceed on their way.
It was only when the F-16s fired four bright flares across the plane's nose that the two men realized the gravity of their situation, officials said. The plane then veered northwest, out of town, escorted by the interceptors, security helicopters and a U.S. Customs jet.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002271787_capital12.htmlThe men had departed at 10:58 a.m. from the small airport at Smoketown, about 12 miles from their homes in the middle of Lancaster County farm country.
Twenty-five minutes later, an FAA air traffic controller monitoring airspace around Baltimore noticed a small aircraft 45 miles north of the Capitol heading straight for Washington's restricted airspace.
The pilot was not in contact with controllers as required for private recreational fliers. FAA controllers immediately alerted agencies on the Domestic Events Network, a special communications system used to notify all agencies that protect the capital's airspace.
At 11:28 a.m., trackers spotted the southbound aircraft entering the Air Defense Identification Zone, the 2,000-square-mile area around Washington that requires private planes to remain in radio contact with controllers. The plane entered the zone from an area 30 miles north of Reagan National Airport, but its radio was not tuned to the proper frequency.
Shortly after 11:30, the Cessna turned east toward Baltimore, then moments later turned south. At 11:47, the Customs and Border Protection agency scrambled a Black Hawk helicopter and Citation jet from Reagan National Airport to intercept the plane. Authorities said the Black Hawk reached the Cessna first, at 11:56, followed by the Citation minutes later. Neither could get the Cessna's attention.
As the Cessna closed in, flying at 2,500 feet, alert levels started to jump across the city. At 12:03 p.m., the White House went to code red, with the aircraft within three miles.
The customs aircraft, meanwhile, had been frantically trying to get the Cessna's attention.
The crews of one or both aircraft held up a sign in their cockpits bearing the radio frequency the Cessna should tune to, officials said. Those on the small plane apparently saw the sign, made radio contact, but refused at first to turn back, officials said."No," the federal pilots ordered, "this is federal law enforcement. You will land that aircraft." Finally, at 12:06 p.m., flying over Northwest Washington, the Air Force fighters arrived, fired warning flares, and the Cessna flyers realized that they were in trouble.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/news/ci_2729820The Cessna later landed at a small airport in Frederick, Md., where officials said the pilot reported his radio was not working. He was said to have gotten to within three miles of the White House.
MSNBC
If the radio wan't working
and these guys took off regardless,
how did they manage to make contact with the radio?
One other thing that stands out is that military fighter jets were scrambled -- as they should have been
WHILE THE POPULACE WAS ORDERED OUTSIDE.
Outside, sirens wailed and the sound of the jets could be heard overhead. "It was relatively orderly," said one Senate worker who fled the Capitol. "But there's still panic, there's always panic. You start to run faster than you think you can run."
Officials said 35,000 people were evacuated from the Capitol and adjacent office complexes. An additional 200 were evacuated from the White House. <snip>
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the government has very specific rules on when an intruding civilian aircraft can be shot down.
Pentagon officials said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was contacted and available to execute a shoot-down order if necessary.http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/news/ci_2729820The State Department was an exception. The building was not evacuated even though officials knew about the threat, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conducted a television interview unaware of the plane.
http://cbs11tv.com/localnews/topstories_story_131122135.htmlMay 11, 2005
Q And then, finally, the pictures -- more generally, these pictures of somewhat frantic evacuations of the heart of the American government are being broadcast all around the world. Is it fair to say that, really without doing anything here, there's been an achievement by terrorists to demonstrate to the world that this country and capital can be rattled by a Cessna that --
<snip>
Q Scott, concerning threat levels, former Secretary Ridge yesterday indicated there might have been some ongoing --
MR. McCLELLAN: Can we stay on this current situation, and then I'll be glad to come back to your question? Does anybody else have any questions on this current situation? Go ahead.
Q Scott, why did the -- why didn't the internal emergency notification system go off here in the White House?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that there were -- there was a notification system that was going off.
Q No, it wasn't.
<snip>
Q The Secret Service did not alert people in the basement of the press room that there was a problem. The sound system did not go off. How can you be confident that protocols were followed, when clearly here we know they were not? Were others -- were all staffers in the White House alerted about this problem and evacuated by the Secret Service?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050511-1.htmlMay 12, 2005
Q And wasn't there a possibility that a plane headed for the White House, that this was the leading edge of some broader attack, isn't the President concerned that maybe he should have been alerted to the fact that this could have been the beginning of a general attack?
MR. McCLELLAN: That was not the case, and I think
the Department of Defense yesterday indicated that they didn't sense any hostile intent on the part of the plane, so again --
Q How did they know -- how did they know this plane wasn't laden with WMD or some other type of weapons like that? Did they get reassurances from the pilot? Or how did they know that?MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, if you want to give me a chance to respond, I'll be glad to. The protocols were followed. This situation, as you're well aware, turned out to be an accident.
The Department of Defense pointed out yesterday that they didn't sense any hostile intent on the part of the plane. There were fighter jets scrambled. There was a Blackhawk helicopter scrambled, as well, to get in contact with the plane. Once the flare was fired and the warning was sent to the plane, the plane realized -- the pilot realized that they were in the wrong place and turned away. And the plane was escorted safely to the ground where the pilots were questioned. And it was determined that they were just in the wrong place and it shouldn't have been that way.
Q So if it was assessed that there was no hostile intent on the part of this aircraft, can you tell us why 30,000 people -- 35,000 people were told to run for their lives?
MR. McCLELLAN: Because of the protocols that are in place, John. We want to make sure that the people in the area of the threat are protected. After --
Q But what was the threat? You just said there was no threat. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050512-2.htmlI wonder what they are trying to sell us .....
Published: May 13, 2005
The incident, federal officials said, demonstrates the need to communicate better with pilots who accidentally violate the air space rules, an effort that is already under way.
In Washington, Norad will begin using a system of laser beacons in 10 days that they can point at offending aircraft to get the pilots' attention and warn them away.http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/13/national/13plane.html?Great.
Just great.
Because the place you MOST want to be
when a military plane gets into a dog fight
is DIRECTLY BELOW the action.
Great for the movies.
Great for PR.
Lousy for those of us who live in reality.
Whoever is making those lasers sure has a
LOT of pull.