Orange Alert Rumors And NOTAMs

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Banner Towers, DC-3 Affected…

Despite some ominous rumors, GA remained (at least through Christmas Eve) relatively unaffected by the increase in the terrorist alert status to Orange, or High — exceptions include a smattering of TFRs chasing the President, a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for the Chicago lakefront and rules resurrected for Potomac, College Park and Hyde airports located within the 15-nm Washington flight restriction zone — the airports are often referred to as the DC-3 (click to download NOTAMs 3/2030, 3/2031, 3/2033, and 3/2035 in Microsoft Word format). The information is available from DUAT, but not all of it was not available as late as yesterday from the FAA’s TFR Web site. While TFRs generally affect defined areas, there are some with broad reach. One that has effect outside the Washington area and it suspends (again) the waivers for stadium overflights. The other three halt an ingress/egress test in the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), suspend waivers for flights into the flight restriction zone and make pilots flying to Potomac Airfield, College Park and Hyde Field stop at Tipton Airport for a security check. The information is available from DUAT, but not all of it was available as late as yesterday from the FAA’s TFR Web site. According to FAA spokesman Greg Martin, there are no plans now to escalate security measures. What might have been has been the subject of much conjecture, however. Given the tone of Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge’s portrayal of the threat as the most serious since 9/11, the aviation community was apparently ready for much tighter restrictions to be imposed. “There were a lot of things going around,” said Martin. Among them was a rumor that a 30-nm ADIZ would be thrown around the naval base at Norfolk, Va. Whether it was considered and then abandoned, we’re not sure, but correspondents to AVweb claimed they actually heard the information from an FSS in the area. Stay tuned …

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