Numerous planes diverted from Washington airport

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I didn't make up the headline...it was Rueters.  Yes, sort of misleading.
(not to mention, at the end, the article suggests B-767s operated at DCA
beside the 757s before 9/11)

Walter
DCA

Numerous planes diverted from Washington airport

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - An uproar over a Frontier Airlines jet that
flew over the White House this week prompted disclosures on Wednesday that
numerous planes have failed to follow post-Sept. 11 security procedures when
operating near the nation's capital, government officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said only several incidents involved
commercial aircraft that breached restricted airspace over federal
landmarks. The latest involved the Frontier (FRNT) Boeing 737 on Monday
night as it flew over the White House.

But the agency noted that since post-Sept. 11 security rules were put in
place, commercial pilots failed 36 times to follow detailed procedures for
identifying their aircraft as they approached Washington's Ronald Reagan
National Airport.


Those planes were diverted to Dulles International Airport, which is 25
miles (40 km) west of Washington in suburban Virginia. Crews were questioned
there and, in some cases, put through new security checks along with
passengers.

The new security requirements require planes flying into Reagan National,
located just across the Potomac River from the White House and other federal
buildings and monuments, to properly identify themselves to air traffic
controllers before landing. If they fail to do so, then they are diverted.

The Frontier jet that failed to veer from restricted air space over the
White House immediately after taking off from Reagan National for Denver had
earlier in the day been diverted to Dulles when the same crew failed to
follow proper identification procedures on its way into Washington.

Those pilots, who have not been identified by the airline, have been
grounded until federal and company investigations are completed, an airline
spokeswoman said.

The number of incidents in which planes headed for Reagan National had to be
diverted to Dulles ranged from 11 in October to four in March. This month's
security diversions so far include the Frontier plane and another commercial
jet directed to Dulles on Tuesday. The airline was not identified.

White House national security officials opposed reopening Reagan National
after the Sept. 11 hijack attacks, fearing its close proximity to the White
House, Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol complex posed a serious security risk.

One of the planes hijacked by terrorists took off from Dulles and was flown
into the Pentagon.

But the Bush administration relented to political and public pressure and
allowed the airport to reopen almost a month after the attacks. Service has
been allowed to resume gradually and Reagan National now operates at 75
percent capacity. That is equivalent to roughly 600 takeoffs and landings
each day.

Airport authority spokeswoman Tara Hamilton said post Sept. 11 security
regulations at Reagan National still ban flights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. EST
and prohibit planes with more than 156 seats. Big airlines are trying to get
those conditions reversed.

The four hijacked planes were Boeing (BA) 757 and 767s series aircraft,
which cannot operate under the size restrictions at Reagan National.


©2002 Reuters Limited.

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