FAA Revokes License of Errant Cessna Pilot

The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday revoked the pilot license of the Pennsylvania man who flew his Cessna into Washington's restricted airspace on May 11, prompting the evacuation of the White House and Capitol.

The FAA 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 Hayden L. "Jim" Sheaffer of Lititz, Pa., 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.

"It's an extraordinary action that reflects how seriously we view violations within restricted airspace," said FAA spokesman Greg Martin. "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 a 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 student pilot Martin, the FAA order said.

Sheaffer and Martin 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.