As it's defined in both the Aeronautical Information Manual and Part 1 of the federal aviation regulations, prohibited airspace is an airspace designated under FAR Part 73 within which no person may operate an aircraft without the permission of the using agency.
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, pilots have been faced with additional types of airspace that--while they may go by different names--exhibit the characteristics of prohibited airspace. Consider the preponderance of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), which temporarily prohibit flight over certain areas and are disseminated by notices to airmen (notam); TFRs are no-fly zones for most aircraft.
Then there's the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area Air Defense Identification Zone (DC ADIZ), a nearly 2,000-square-mile swath of airspace extending from the surface to 18,000 feet above mean sea level where, an FAA notam explains, "the ready identification, location, and control of aircraft is required in the interests of national security." Air defense identification zones have existed for decades along the U.S. coast and borders, but an ADIZ over the continental United States was new when it was established in 2003. Special flight rules provide for general aviation operations in the DC ADIZ following specific procedures for flight plans and ATC communication, and provide additional limitations within the flight restricted zone (FRZ) over downtown Washington, D.C., in the center of the ADIZ. Here, pilots wishing to utilize College Park, Washington Executive/Hyde Field, or Potomac airports must apply for and be issued a personal identification number; the process requires fingerprinting and background checks.
Another ADIZ imposed over New York City in February 2003 as a temporary security measure was eliminated after the war in Iraq ended.
Other airspace is set aside for national security. One of the best-known is that stretched hexagonal lozenge cryptically referred to as P-56, which includes the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, and a separate cylinder of airspace protecting the vice president's residence. P-56 stretches from the surface all the way up to 18,000 feet. For practical purposes P-56 is not currently an issue, because it lies within both the DC ADIZ and the FRZ.
The ranks of prohibited airspace also include P-40, which protects the presidential retreat at Camp David in north-central Maryland, and P-49 over the Crawford, Texas, residence of President Bush. Others include P-47 in Amarillo, Texas; P-67 in Kennebunkport, Maine; P-73, which overlies George Washington's Mount Vernon home in northern Virginia; and P-204, P-205, and P-206 in northern Minnesota.
Some of these demand extra attention from pilots--the dimensions of the airspace can and do change--especially P-40, which expands from its normal diameter of 3 nm to 10 nm, and P-49, which expands from its normal 3 nm to 30 nm. This is one of many reasons it's imperative to carefully check notices to airmen before every flight; the temporary expansion of such airspace is communicated to pilots through notams.
Prohibited airspace is only one type of special use airspace. This broader category refers to airspace of defined dimensions identified by an area on the surface of the Earth as well as base and ceiling altitudes. Special use airspace may be designated to accommodate activities that must be confined because of their nature and/or to impose operating limitations on aircraft that are not part of those activities.
AOPA resourcesAOPA offers several tools to help you better understand prohibited and restricted airspace, as well as your responsibilities as pilot in command when you are flying near these areas. From online tutorials to print-and-keep checklists, take advantage of these free resources to stay informed.
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The types of special use airspace include:
Alert area--Airspace that may contain a high volume of pilot training activities.
Controlled firing area--Airspace in which activities, typically involving military weapons practice, are conducted under controlled conditions so as to eliminate hazards to nonparticipating aircraft. (Of all types of special use airspace, this is the only one that is not depicted on aeronautical charts. The hazardous activity is suspended when an aircraft enters the CFA airspace.)
Military operations area (MOA)--Airspace established to separate certain military activities from IFR traffic and to identify for VFR traffic where these activities are conducted.
Military training routes--Routes established for the conduct of military training flights at airspeeds in excess of 250 kt.
National security areas--Airspace where there is a requirement for increased security and safety of ground facilities. Pilots are requested to voluntarily avoid flying through depicted national security areas. Flight in NSAs may be temporarily prohibited; such prohibitions would be disseminated via notam.
Prohibited area--Designated airspace within which the flight of aircraft is prohibited.
Restricted area--Airspace within which the flight of aircraft, while not wholly prohibited, is subject to restrictions. Most restricted areas are designated joint use so that if the restricted area is not in use, the controlling air traffic control facility may authorize pilots to conduct IFR and VFR operations within the airspace.
Warning area--Airspace, typically along an international border, which may contain hazards to nonparticipating aircraft.
Although MOAs and restricted airspace are more widespread in the National Airspace System, transgressions of prohibited airspace can have much more severe consequences, and for that reason alone it's worth paying extra attention to prohibited areas. Prohibited airspace is noted on VFR charts by a solid blue box with hatch marks on the inner border.
So what would happen to you if you inadvertently entered a prohibited area? You would think a foray into this kind of no-airman's-land would be the last thing on a pilot's mind. Well, maybe avoiding this restricted airspace should be more important for some pilots, because this airspace is violated far too often.
The FAA investigates airspace violations and when the agency considers it necessary, imposes sanctions--normally by suspending the pilot's certificate. Suspensions can range in length from 30 days to one year; keep in mind that even a brief suspension of your pilot certificate could keep you from getting hired as a professional pilot. On May 11, a Cessna 150 penetrated both the ADIZ and the FRZ, causing evacuations of the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and other buildings; military aircraft forced the pilot to land (see "President's Perspective: Don't Cross the Line," July 2005 AOPA Flight Training). The FAA sought an emergency revocation of pilot Hayden "Jim" Sheaffer's certificate but will allow him to reapply for the certificate in 10 months instead of the normal 12 months. Because his certificate was revoked, not suspended, Sheaffer will have to retake both the knowledge and practical tests.
Prohibited airspace doesn't live forever. Some prohibited areas have come and gone, often with the presidents whom they were meant to protect--including sites in San Clemente, California, and Key Biscayne, Florida. And even prohibited areas that outlast presidents can evolve with the times. P-56 has existed in six different shapes and sizes around parts of Washington, D.C., since June 1938 when it was created by an executive order. (Most airspace restrictions are initially published in the Federal Register before being portrayed graphically to the pilot community on aeronautical charts.)
The DC ADIZ probably won't last forever, at least under that name. An FAA proposal released August 4 would give the airspace a brand-new designation, National Defense Airspace. It also outlines significant fines for violations of the airspace. Another proposal is expected to mandate training about the airspace--not just locally, but across the country.
Long concerned about operational issues surrounding the ADIZ, AOPA is opposed to the plan that would make the airspace permanent. "AOPA recognizes the necessity to protect the national assets in the nation's capital. The 15-nautical-mile-radius no-fly zone known as the flight restricted zone does that," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "But we take strong exception to the FAA proposal that would make the temporary outer ring of Washington's defensive airspace--the ADIZ--permanent."
Numerous upgrades to security systems around the nation's capital, including a new visual warning system (VWS) that uses lasers to warn pilots away from restricted airspace (see "AOPA Resources," p. 44), antiaircraft missile batteries, and greatly improved radar coverage significantly enhance the protection offered by the FRZ, making the ADIZ unnecessary.
"The government has failed to assess the impact of what was intended as a temporary security enhancement on pilots, on air traffic controllers, or on airports and the businesses based there," Boyer continued. "No general aviation aircraft has ever been used in a terrorist attack. And the government has determined that not a single ADIZ violation was terrorist-related."
Air traffic controllers at Potomac Tracon, which is responsible for the airspace around Washington, D.C., report that weekend days with good weather are their busiest--because of additional controller workload caused by the airspace restrictions. (Typically, controllers are busiest on days with really low clouds--when aircraft flying under instrument flight rules cannot land, and must hold or make repeated approaches.) "The ADIZ is operationally unworkable and imposes significant burdens on pilots and air traffic controllers alike," Boyer noted.
While you may not see too much prohibited airspace where you normally fly, it's another piece of the airspace puzzle--and one that you must know about. After all, you don't want to learn about it after you've flown through it.
Jeff Pardo is an aviation writer in Maryland with a commercial pilot certificate for airplanes, and instrument, helicopter, and glider ratings. He has logged about 1,250 hours since 1989. An Angel Flight mission pilot, Pardo has also flown for the Civil Air Patrol.
Want to know more?
Links to additional resources about the topics discussed in this article are available at AOPA Flight Training Online.
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