FAA scrutinizes Northern Virginia pilots
By AOPA ePublishing staff
The FAA is concerned about infractions in a special maneuvering area within the Washington, D.C., Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). If things don’t improve, the agency may take away the area.
Since the ADIZ redesign went into effect last September, there have been 87 ADIZ violations, 20 of those occurred in the Leesburg, Va., Maneuvering Area. Most of the maneuvering area infractions were caused by pilots based at Leesburg Executive Airport. The most common mistake? Pilots are inappropriately squawking 1200 while still in the maneuvering area.
“The FAA made it clear that if the numbers can’t be reduced, the next step will be the elimination of the Leesburg Maneuvering Area, which would require pilots to abide by standard D.C. ADIZ procedures,” said Melissa Rudinger, AOPA vice president of regulatory affairs.
For more information, including links to the FAA’s ADIZ online course and operating procedures at Leesburg airport, see our ADIZ resources.
February 7, 2008
