An American Airlines pilot was recently paid a visit by the United States Secret Service after the aviator accidentally flew through a small area of highly restricted airspace around the White House and Capitol Building, as well as other key sites such as the Lincoln Memorial and National Mall.
The revelation came in the form of a leaked internal memo from the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents flight crew at the Fort Worth-based carrier which warned pilots they faced the threat of being terminated if they continued to violate the airspace restrictions.
The contentious part of airspace in question is known as Prohibited Area 56 or P-56 for short, and while the history of this restricted area can be traced all the way back to the 1930s, the modern-day version of the prohibited airspace area over the capital was established in 1966.
Despite the fact that pilots are very aware of restricted airspace across Washington DC, and P-56 in particular, they face a problem in that National Reagan Airport (DCA) is just a few miles away.
This is especially an issue when DCA is using Runway 1 for departures, sending airplanes straight towards P-56. The distance between the end of Runway 1 and the start of P-56 is just two-and-a-half miles as the crow flies – a distance that can be flown in less than a minute.
In order to avoid violating P-56, pilots are required to almost immediately turn left and fly over the Potomac as they climb to their cruising altitude.
Despite P-56 being common knowledge, however, Airline Geeks reports that APA is concerned that its pilots keep violating the prohibited area even after “extensive training and outreach” by the union to educate its members about P-56.
“Treat P-56 as if it were a mountain,” the union warned in the leaked memo – suggesting that pilots take the same kind of evasive action to avoid flying into P-56 as they would if they were at risk of flying into the side of a mountain.
“Your career is at risk,” the memo continued.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), P-56 is actually made up of two areas known as P-56A and P-56B. The first covers the area west of the Lincoln Memorial to east of the Capitol and between Independence Avenue and K Street. The second covers a small circle with a radius of about one nautical mile (about 1.2 statute miles) surrounding the Naval Observatory on Massachusetts Avenue.
Both prohibited airspace areas go up to 18,000 feet.
