The Department of Homeland Security is considering additional ways of communicating with aircraft after a small aircraft entered the Washington DC Air Defense Identification Zone (DC ADIZ) on May 11, 2005. One of the proposals being considered is to use a Blackhawk helicopter with a ?Follow Me? sign onboard to alert aircraft having communication problems. While this is an excellent idea for an aircraft struggling with technical problems in its radio system, it does not make the airspace over our nation?s capital any safer. What additional steps are needed to secure the airspace over Washington, DC, and when will these measures be implemented?

Restricted airspace over certain areas of Washington DC is not a new concept. And yet, until September 11 , most people could never have imagined that someone would fly an aircraft into a building. On September 11, 1994, Frank Corder, a student pilot with a history of alcohol and drug abuse problems, stole a Cessna 150-L and struck the White House after hitting an old magnolia tree on the South Lawn. The restricted airspace in and around Washington has been breached hundreds of times. In February 1974, an Army mechanic, who failed out of flight school, stole an Army helicopter and landed on the South Lawn. In June 2002, two small aircraft entered restricted airspace over Camp David and were intercepted by jet fighters. That same month, an aircraft flew into restricted airspace and was able to get within four miles of the White House. It continued heading south until it was intercepted, finally landing in Richmond, Virginia.