Phil Boyer, AOPA's president since 1991, has been flying for more than 30 years.
Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are nothing new to those of us who work for you at AOPA. In 1997, Oprah Winfrey's production company got the FAA to issue a week-long TFR in the Eastern Region. The restriction had a 6-nm radius and extended up to 13,000 feet msl; it closed two airports and portions of two low-altitude airways. The reason: production of a movie starring Oprah! Obviously, AOPA objected to this misuse of the TFR rule. It was canceled despite strong protests, and a direct appeal by Oprah to the FAA.
However, the tragic events that occurred on September 11 have changed the general aviation landscape. One of these events was not so obvious. It took the form of bureaucratic small print buried in the Federal Register. A rule change enacted September 11 expanded the FAA's power to issue temporary flight restrictions. This tiny rule started an unfortunate and unintentional chain of events that has led to the TFR dilemma now facing all general aviation pilots and airport operators.
This new TFR rule (opposed by AOPA) expanded the scope of events protected by TFRs to include sporting events and public gatherings. Granted, the FAA has always held emergency powers to close airspace during catastrophic events, but wholesale restrictions over sporting events did not exist prior to September 11. Six months after the attacks, with most airspace access almost restored, the new TFR rule sets the stage for the proliferation of "security" TFRs we are seeing today.
The harbinger of what was to come emerged quietly on September 20, when the FAA issued the ill-advised, ill-defined, and virtually unenforceable "sports stadium" TFR banning flight over all "open-air assemblies and sporting events." The TFR included no times or locations of these events, and no definition of what constituted an "open-air assembly" to warn pilots. Tripped up by their own new rule, the FAA hated this one as much as we did, but security officials prevailed in implementing it anyway. Like a toothless tiger, this rule was ineffective, and any pretense of enforcing it was quickly abandoned with one exception — banner towers. They lost their ability to make a living, and to this day are prohibited from flying over these events.
Then, in early November, just when AOPA was expecting a phone call from the FAA administrator announcing a much anticipated easing of restrictions, we instead got word of the now infamous "nuclear" TFR. Despite the fact that no explanation of a threat was given, this "security" TFR went into effect, banning general aviation over 86 nuclear sites. It was impossible to interpret, let alone to enforce, and pilots were outraged.
In a misguided attempt to further protect its assets, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) prohibited the FAA from using any latitude and longitude coordinates to define the airspace. To really mix things up, the NRC database contained errors. A nuclear plant said to be in Illinois was actually in Ohio!
TFRs continued to proliferate — the World Series (25 nm), the United Nations General Session (18 nm), the space shuttle (30 nm), and the Olympics with a whopping 45-nm TFR that would remain in effect for 19 straight days! Another troubling trend also emerged; the FAA's advance notification of these pending restrictions began slipping.
Things aren't getting better. On January 29, just two hours before the restrictions would be enforced, a 25-nm TFR was placed over Washington, D.C., for the State of the Union address. Obviously, pilots had little chance to receive the vital information. In fact, the very next day I received an e-mail from a member who had departed Freeway Airport near Washington before the flight restriction was published. His scheduled return time was 8 p.m. Lucky for him he happened to remain on the unicom frequency and heard an announcement regarding the airspace closure. If he had instead monitored 121.5 as suggested by the FAA, he would have missed the call and violated the airspace, possibly with the dire consequence of being shot down! Another AOPA member was on an evening cross-country and was not on the frequency. Fortunately for him Flight Service was able to contact him and advise him of the closure. The very same week, a similar incident occurred with the issuance of an 18-nm TFR over Manhattan for the World Financial Meeting. AOPA made it clear to Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge and other political leaders that this kind of last-minute restriction is unacceptable and dangerous. We didn't argue the need for this protection; we objected to the last-minute notice for a speech that had been scheduled a year in advance.
It may appear to the causal observer that TFRs are indeed the new norm, but they aren't. Behind the scenes, AOPA continues to successfully fight many proposed restrictions. It is clear that more work is needed, and so we press on to secure your ability to fly with appropriate notice of restrictions issued for national security. You might not always hear about it, but progress is being made. Our reward is in the TFR that doesn't get issued, the blanket restriction that doesn't get implemented, the airports that don't get closed, and the airplanes that aren't grounded. The fact remains that as I write, months after the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, except for three Washington, D.C.-area airports, general aviation is flying. Rest assured AOPA aims to keep it that way!
