DC airspace violator to appeal
05-24-2005, 06:16 AM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
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Joined APC: Feb 2005
Position: 737 Capt
Posts: 219
DC airspace violator to appeal
Errant Pilot to Appeal Revocation of License
Pa. Man Said He Tried to Follow Proper Procedures
By Fred Barbash and Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, May 24, 2005; 8:51 AM
The Pennsylvania man who flew his Cessna into Washington's restricted airspace on May 11 called the experience "very scary" in his first interview today but said he tried to follow proper procedures and would appeal the revocation of his pilot's license.
Hayden L. "Jim" Sheaffer of Lititz, Pa., in an interview on NBC's "Today" program, said he was aware that the air space was restricted.
He realized he was off course over Baltimore and he tried unsuccessfully to communicate with authorities as soon as he spotted a Black Hawk helicopter that was trying to warn him.
When he was finally confronted by U.S. fighter jets, he said "I thought we were going to get shot out of the sky."
It was Sheaffer's flight that prompted the hasty evacuation of the U.S. Capitol and the White House.
The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday revoked Sheaffer's license but did not take any action against the other occupant of the aircraft, student pilot Troy D. Martin, who was at the controls at times during the flight.
The agency said Sheaffer would lose his license immediately and must wait at least a year to apply for a new one and start over with flight school lessons. Because Sheaffer was the only licensed pilot in the aircraft, he is responsible for the plane and the airspace violation, the agency said.
Sheaffer told the Today show that if he had it to do over again, he would have taken control of the plane over Baltimore.
"I was aware that they [restrictions] were in place" around Washington, Sheaffer said. "When I first saw the helicopter I knew were were someplace we weren't supposed to be."
The Black Hawk, operated by immigration officials, held up a sign telling the Cessna to turn to an emergency radio frequency. Sheaffer said he complied but could still not communicate.
"We tuned to that frequency," he said "but we could not communicate with them. The radio worked from the time that we left" Pennsylvania, he said.
When he saw the F-16 fighter jets, "that was very scary" because "after the second pass and the flares were fired, I thought we were going to get shot out of the sky.. . . . I ended up about that far way from being shot out of sky," he said, holding up his fingers to signify about a half inch.
Asked what he would do over again, "I did not take the controls.. . . . I would have taken the controls from the very first helicopter" and turned around."
FAA spokesman Greg Martin said yesterday that revocation was "an extraordinary action that reflects how seriously we view violations within restricted airspace.. . . . The student pilot has 30 hours of flying time, and there is a much greater level and expectation that is placed on the pilot. It's quite reasonable that, with so few hours, a student would not be held to that same standard."
The FAA's emergency order said that Sheaffer used a February edition of an aeronautical chart to plan his flight from Smoketown, Pa., to Lumberton, N.C., and that the map clearly showed the restricted airspace around the Washington area. The FAA said Sheaffer got lost soon after departure from Smoketown and failed to contact air traffic controllers while flying near Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Sheaffer still did not make contact after being intercepted near Washington by the Black Hawk helicopter and a Citation jet, the FAA said.
Sheaffer also failed to conduct basic preflight planning, such as obtaining a weather briefing and reading FAA notices about current flying restrictions, the FAA said.
It was only after F-16 jets arrived and dropped flares near the Cessna that it changed direction, under the control of the student pilot, the FAA order said.
Sheaffer and the student did not return calls to their homes for comment yesterday. They released a statement, through an attorney on May 20, saying they "very sincerely regret all of the disruption that this event has caused for so many people in our nation's capital."
Sheaffer checked various weather Web sites the night before the flight, the statement said, and looked at an aviation Web site for notices about flight restrictions. The two flew too far south into Washington because they were trying to avoid Camp David and, once intercepted by the Black Hawk, were unable to communicate on the frequency indicated. "We received no response on either of the indicated frequencies despite repeated attempts by both of us," the statement said.
Pa. Man Said He Tried to Follow Proper Procedures
By Fred Barbash and Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, May 24, 2005; 8:51 AM
The Pennsylvania man who flew his Cessna into Washington's restricted airspace on May 11 called the experience "very scary" in his first interview today but said he tried to follow proper procedures and would appeal the revocation of his pilot's license.
Hayden L. "Jim" Sheaffer of Lititz, Pa., in an interview on NBC's "Today" program, said he was aware that the air space was restricted.
He realized he was off course over Baltimore and he tried unsuccessfully to communicate with authorities as soon as he spotted a Black Hawk helicopter that was trying to warn him.
When he was finally confronted by U.S. fighter jets, he said "I thought we were going to get shot out of the sky."
It was Sheaffer's flight that prompted the hasty evacuation of the U.S. Capitol and the White House.
The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday revoked Sheaffer's license but did not take any action against the other occupant of the aircraft, student pilot Troy D. Martin, who was at the controls at times during the flight.
The agency said Sheaffer would lose his license immediately and must wait at least a year to apply for a new one and start over with flight school lessons. Because Sheaffer was the only licensed pilot in the aircraft, he is responsible for the plane and the airspace violation, the agency said.
Sheaffer told the Today show that if he had it to do over again, he would have taken control of the plane over Baltimore.
"I was aware that they [restrictions] were in place" around Washington, Sheaffer said. "When I first saw the helicopter I knew were were someplace we weren't supposed to be."
The Black Hawk, operated by immigration officials, held up a sign telling the Cessna to turn to an emergency radio frequency. Sheaffer said he complied but could still not communicate.
"We tuned to that frequency," he said "but we could not communicate with them. The radio worked from the time that we left" Pennsylvania, he said.
When he saw the F-16 fighter jets, "that was very scary" because "after the second pass and the flares were fired, I thought we were going to get shot out of the sky.. . . . I ended up about that far way from being shot out of sky," he said, holding up his fingers to signify about a half inch.
Asked what he would do over again, "I did not take the controls.. . . . I would have taken the controls from the very first helicopter" and turned around."
FAA spokesman Greg Martin said yesterday that revocation was "an extraordinary action that reflects how seriously we view violations within restricted airspace.. . . . The student pilot has 30 hours of flying time, and there is a much greater level and expectation that is placed on the pilot. It's quite reasonable that, with so few hours, a student would not be held to that same standard."
The FAA's emergency order said that Sheaffer used a February edition of an aeronautical chart to plan his flight from Smoketown, Pa., to Lumberton, N.C., and that the map clearly showed the restricted airspace around the Washington area. The FAA said Sheaffer got lost soon after departure from Smoketown and failed to contact air traffic controllers while flying near Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Sheaffer still did not make contact after being intercepted near Washington by the Black Hawk helicopter and a Citation jet, the FAA said.
Sheaffer also failed to conduct basic preflight planning, such as obtaining a weather briefing and reading FAA notices about current flying restrictions, the FAA said.
It was only after F-16 jets arrived and dropped flares near the Cessna that it changed direction, under the control of the student pilot, the FAA order said.
Sheaffer and the student did not return calls to their homes for comment yesterday. They released a statement, through an attorney on May 20, saying they "very sincerely regret all of the disruption that this event has caused for so many people in our nation's capital."
Sheaffer checked various weather Web sites the night before the flight, the statement said, and looked at an aviation Web site for notices about flight restrictions. The two flew too far south into Washington because they were trying to avoid Camp David and, once intercepted by the Black Hawk, were unable to communicate on the frequency indicated. "We received no response on either of the indicated frequencies despite repeated attempts by both of us," the statement said.
05-30-2005, 11:53 PM
#2
Line Holder
Joined APC: May 2005
Position: Disillusioned
Posts: 52
"Jim" Sheaffer is NOT a CFI. He got his PPL in the 1960's and that is all he has. No instrument, nothing else. Yet he says the student pilot he brought with him on this adventure was at the controls??!?! And "Sheaffer told the Today show that if he had it to do over again, he would have taken control of the plane over Baltimore."
Why wasn't he in control the whole time? What a moron....
Why wasn't he in control the whole time? What a moron....
