ADIZ Violation Explained in AOPA Magazine

Jay Honeck wrote:
The current issue of AOPA Pilot has a fascinating article about the two
pilots (one certificated, one student) who penetrated the Washington ADIZ
last spring, and brought the wrath of the government down upon us all.

What struck me was the entirely casual way in which it all happened. Troy
Martin (the student) and Jim Sheaffer (the 70 year old pilot -- NOT a flight
instructor, as some had reported) had met completely by chance at an airport
function, and become friends just a week before the flight. Martin had 30
hours of training, and was coming up on his long cross-country flights -- so
when he heard that Sheaffer was planning a long flight from their base in
Lancaster, PA to a North Carolina fly-in, he inquired about tagging along.

Thus began the most atrociously influential ADIZ bust since 9/11.

Another reason that we all learn de(a)d reckoning and pilotage. Not
having a GPS is a pretty poor excuse for getting lost. How many years
did airplanes navigate successfully, including across oceans, with no GPS?

Yes, it sounds like the Feds intercepting weren't the sharpest knives in
the drawer, but this screw-up clearly rests on the shoulders of both of
these pilots, and I hesitate to use the term pilot.


Matt