Three Thousand Square Miles of Airspace Off Limits While President Speaks

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January 23, 2007 3:42 PM

General aviation (GA) is banned from the skies within 40 nautical miles of Washington, D.C., Tuesday night.

The federal government has declared Pres. Bush's State of the Union address a national security event, and that has triggered a temporary flight restriction closing all 3,000 square miles of the Washington, D.C., Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) to GA flights between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Pilots flying through the Mid-Atlantic region are urged to be hyper-vigilant to the NOTAM and a flight advisory because of the public relations consequences of an inadvertent ADIZ incursion.

"We don't want GA making headline news after the president's address," AOPA President Phil Boyer said. "It is up to each of us as pilots to be responsible, check notams and stay clear of the Washington, D.C., ADIZ."

During the president's speech to Congress and the nation, no flights are allowed to or from any of the 21 airports within the Washington, D.C., ADIZ, including pattern work.

The special ingress/egress procedures for the "DC-3" airports inside the Flight Restricted Zone are also suspended.

Only IFR flights to and from Washington Dulles International (IAD) and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) airports will be allowed.