Resumo de Homeland Security: Protecting Airspace - Congressional Research Service

The presence of numerous high profile targets in and around Washington, DC, has raised significant policy concerns over how to effectively defend these sites from possible terrorist threats involving aircraft. Domestic airspace protection, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR) has become a significant focus of homeland security and homeland defense efforts following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
However, airspace restrictions and special flight rules implemented to address security concerns in the NCR have been contentious because of their impact on air commerce, particularly general aviation (GA) operations. Congressional action and oversight has sought to strike a balance that adequately meets the critical needs to protect high-profile assets in the NCR while minimizing economic impacts. Vision 100 (P.L. 108-176) mandated a security plan to resume GA flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and congressional oversight, in part, led to the easing of flight restrictions at the three GA airports lying within the 15-mile restricted airspace around Washington, DC. While these actions have served to enhance accessibility to the NCR by GA aircraft in furtherance of air commerce in the region, the Capitol Airspace Enforcement Act (H.R. 3465) seeks to impose statutory suspensions of pilot licenses and increase civil and criminal penalties for airspace violators. The bill would also require mandatory pilot training in an effort to curtail inadvertent airspace violations that complicate the task of defending the NCR airspace from possible aerial attack. Critics of this measure argue that stiff penalties will do little to curb inadvertent violations and extensive pilot education efforts are already underway.3 GA advocates also worry that harsher penalties will further damage aviation related businesses in the area.
In August 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense, proposed to make permanent the special flight rules ? that currently exist on a temporary basis ? to monitor flights over a wide area around the NCR.4 GA user groups, who had hoped the temporary restrictions would be eased or lifted, have decried this move as largely unnecessary and overly restrictive and fear that the proposal would negatively impact GA pilots and further jeopardize aviation-related businesses in the region.
Since September 11, 2001, several actions have been taken to monitor and protect the airspace around Washington, DC. However, many general aviation (GA) interests have protested that extensive airspace restrictions and complex procedures exceed what is necessary to protect critical assets from possible terrorist attacks using aircraft. Policymakers have struggled to address airspace protection needs without unduly impeding air commerce or compromising safety. While the administration is currently seeking to make the airspace restrictions in the National Capital Region permanent, Congress has pushed for an easing of restrictions on GA aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and nearby GA airports through legislation and oversight. However, a few high profile airspace breaches have prompted some in Congress to seek stiffer penalties for violators and mandatory training for pilots (see H.R. 3465). Better pilot training and technologies to improve pilot situational awareness may help curtail inadvertent airspace violations that complicate surveillance and protection efforts.

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