Until yesterday, federal officials felt confident enough in new air security procedures to consider lifting a ban on small aircraft flying in and out of Reagan National Airport, possibly by the end of the year.
Momentum was building to end the prohibition, but after a single-engine Cessna flew alarmingly close to the White House yesterday, administration officials are taking a second look at that plan.
"These incidents should give pause to the whole question of reopening National Airport to small planes," said an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter has not been decided. "Certainly a high-profile incident does not help the case."
The Washington area has the most restricted airspace in the nation, and incursions occur at a rate of about three a day. Black Hawk helicopters patrolling the sky have responded to more than 280 incursions from January to mid-April this year. Most involve recreational pilots who mistakenly cross into the airspace and then are escorted out by the Black Hawks.
Private pilots flying into the 2,000-square-mile zone encompassing the region's three largest airports must maintain constant communication with air traffic controllers. Pilots are required to check navigational maps -- which clearly outline the restricted area -- although some forget and cross into the airspace accidentally.
Black Hawks, small police jets or military fighter jets meet wayward pilots and try to get their attention by flying in close. If that does not work, the fighter jets will drop flares from above as a signal for the plane to turn around or follow the jet out of the area. In the Black Hawks, the co-pilot will flash a large sign from the window directing pilots to dial into a certain radio frequency to talk with air traffic controllers. Later this month, the Air Force plans to begin flashing lasers at pilots who wander into the airspace. If pilots do not respond and land, the helicopters can use tactical maneuvers to force the plane down and the fighters can use lethal force. In some cases, pilots who violate the airspace will temporarily lose their flying license.
"There's no better way to determine whether there's a friend or foe than to pull up close to him and look at him," said one of the pilots who flies the Black Hawks but spoke on condition of anonymity because of Homeland Security rules. Most of the time, he said, pilots quickly understand they are in trouble.
"If they've got a bag over their head or teeth clenched -- it's one thing -- but more often than not, it's like the other day when I had a grandfather [flying a plane] with two grandkids in the back waving at you," he said.
Yesterday's Cessna incident, the latest scare to prompt an evacuation of the White House and the Capitol, raises fresh questions about how best to police the sky over Washington.
"Anybody can charter a plane," said one former Department of Homeland Security who spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no decision on the matter. "There's a number of factors you're trying to balance, and you weigh them against the risk -- and the risk is pretty significant."
All airports across the country were shut down to commercial and private air service immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Most reopened to commercial flights days later. National stayed shut for a month and still maintains its ban on service by corporate and private jets.
Federal officials had been moving toward easing the clampdown on small planes at National. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff met with top officials from several divisions within the agency to work out the remaining concerns, sources said. The administration was expected to lift flight restrictions by the end of summer, with the possible start of corporate jet and chartered aircraft landings by year's end, the sources said.
"In light of significant security concerns about general aviation in the national capital region, Homeland Security continues to work to finalize a security plan for Reagan National Airport," agency spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.
Those most hurt by the ban on flights into National are corporate executives, foreign dignitaries and other VIPs who prefer landing right in the capital rather than taking a slower route via Dulles International Airport. Signature Flight Support Corp., which had provided fuel and services for more than 75 private aircraft a day at National, has lost $15 million in business since 2001.
James K. Coyne, a lobbyist who has worked for three years to get the ban lifted, said he will not let yesterday's incident slow his push. "I'm sometimes the unluckiest guy on the planet," said Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association, which represents companies that provide services for small private and corporate aircraft. "The people who have a hysterically overcautious mind-set have got us to where we are today. That cautiousness is clearly going to be fostered by this incident."
Getting the ban reconsidered has proved a challenge, Coyne said, partly because in three years the federal government has shifted oversight for the rule from the White House to the Department of Transportation to the Transportation Security Administration to the Department of Homeland Security.
Even now, Coyne is not sure who is in charge of overturning the prohibition. Besides Homeland Security, at least a half-dozen agencies seem to hold some kind of influence on the issue -- including the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI and the Defense Department. The foggy line of authority has provided one of the great mysteries in Washington, baffling lawmakers, lobbyists and even top Bush administration officials.
"I call it the secret security cabal," Coyne said.
