Local pilots panic capital (Cessna pilot campaigned for Bush!)

[gauguin57]

http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/14287

From Lancaster, PA, Intelligencer-Journal, about the two county pilots who caused all the fuss in D.C. yesterday:

...
(Student pilot Troy) Martin's wife, Jill, told the Associated Press the two men were aware they could not fly over the capital.

"Troy was discussing with me last night, after they made their flight plans, all about the no-fly zones and how they were going to avoid them," she said. "He said they were going to fly between two different restricted areas."

"Sue Youmans, 54, has lived next door to (pilot Jim) Sheaffer for about 20 years. "Jim is a very warm, friendly, kind man," Youmans said. "He's the farthest from a terrorist that anyone could be."

Youmans said Sheaffer is a Republican and campaigned for President Bush. "He's a big President Bush supporter," Youmans said. "He's a good person that made a terrible error."

This sidebar is funny, too ... makes the pilot sound totally incompetent!

http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/14288

A Federal Aviation Administration examiner described the Lititz pilot who sparked a panic in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon as a rusty flyer who needed help fueling his airplane before taking off. Mike Kuhn said Wednesday he was at Smoketown Airport when Hayden "Jim" Sheaffer Jr. was preparing to depart. He said Sheaffer, 69, rarely flies and may not keep current on aviation regulations.

"The people who fly into restricted areas are the people who don't come to safety meetings and don't have what they need when it comes to training," Kuhn said.

Kuhn said Sheaffer came to the airport office Wednesday morning because he needed help fueling the plane. "He hadn't been out there in so long, he didn't know how to operate the pumps," the FAA examiner said.

Sheaffer is one of 10 members of the Vintage Aero Club. The members pay monthly dues and share a 1970 Cessna two-seater airplane. "They are a low-activity kind of organization," Kuhn said. "Every time I see them fly, I cringe a little." ......

[Melodybe]

1. Awe did bush's little buddy think that the laws don't apply to him

typical.

[Demeter]

37. Obviously, They Didn't

If he'd been a registered Democrat and big name donor, I'm sure he would have been shipped off to a complicit foreign country for some gentle interrogation.

[democracyindanger]

2. "He's a good person that made a terrible error."

He voted for Bush.

[Kurovski]

32. Hehehe.

America's full of 'em.

[Deja Q]

35. That's one horrible pilot.

He voted for Bush.

[havocmom]

3. Memo? What British memo?

'Go for a bike ride. I'll take care of the news cycle for ya, boss!'

The number of the beast is 43

[gauguin57]

4. delete

...

[notadmblnd]

5. So how much did they cut him a check for?

for that little distraction?

[Cobalt Violet]

6. "Republican and campaigned for President Bush"

yet she claims "He's the farthest from a terrorist that anyone could be."


That doesn't make a shread of sense.

[Walt Starr]

7. Now we know why there were no charges

Had it been a Kerry supporter, he'd have been shipped to Gitmo.

[underpants]

8. No charges not questioned free to go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1465235&mesg_id=1465235

[yellowcanine]

21. Not even a civil fine? So I get more if I get flashed at a red light?

Something is seriously messed up. I get flashed by a red light camera, it's 75 bucks. These guys tied up the whole city and cost how much (taxpayer) money and they say, "O.K., be more careful the next time."?????????

[underpants]

24. FAA action is still possible

The men still could face civil action by the FAA, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN.

That could include license suspensions and civil penalties up to $1,100 per violation, such as entering restricted airspace, failing to respond to communications, and failing to be properly informed of flight restrictions.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. Makes me think it was staged all the more

[Dinger]

14. Exacatackily! (nt)

[leftchick]

26. It certainly would not be the first time bushco** used stooges

and dumb ones too.

[demo dutch]

10. I'm going to puke right now!

[tridim]

11. I spent a few hours last night looking for info on Shaeffer

and found nothing. You'd think a flying instructor would have at least some web presence. This guy has none.

I'm calling BS.

[gauguin57]

12. He wasn't an instructor ... sounds like he was barely a PILOT ...

.. (see the updated post -- the people at the airport said he couldn't even remember how to fuel the plane)

[screembloodymurder]

36. Lancaster, PA has a strong CIA connection.

Back in the 8o's Lancaster based ISC (International Signal Control) was involved with the Reagan spooks. The CEO, James Geurin, was convicted of shipping (w/ the help of a Lancaster pilot) arms to South Africa and he's still in prison despite the help of some powerfull people. Geurin was involved in the BCCI scandal and reportedly knows too much to be pardoned. So Lancaster has connections and has been used in the past. BTW, the pilot that hit the Pentagon has family in Lancaster. It might be tinfoil, but I wouldn't rule out a deliberate action.

[SCDem]

13. They should be fined then

If a boy wears a dress to a HS prom he is fined and suspended but if a pilot who knowingly goes in a no fly zone and interupts the workings of congress he is let go with out questions? :shrug:

These people should have to pay for amount of loss time to people... we the taxpayers paid for that stunt of theirs.

[yellowcanine]

15. "Every time I see them fly, I cringe a little." ......Now he knows how we

feel when Bush gets in front of a microphone.

[MemphisTiger]

16. So, having charges filed against you depends on your

political affiliation? Sounds about par for the course right Mr. Delay?

[havocmom]

17. Might consider editing your subject line per LBN rules

Local pilots panic capitol is what I get for headline at your link

[gauguin57]

Done...

I hope people will still read the post with that dull, second-day headline... the important info was at the bottom of the story.

[havocmom]

20. Dull is better than deleted by the mods for rules violation

;)

[daleo]

18. Indeed, a nice little distraction

Well done, Bush supporter. It may throw a little light on the fact that nobody thought it necessary to warn Bush during his bike ride.

[indepat]

19. Wonder if making a terrible error is a.o.k. if your politics are right

[gauguin57]

22. Here's the newest Lancaster County coverage from the afternoon paper

From Lancaster New Era:

Wayward pilots escape charges but not spotlight

http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/14298

"The incident stumped — and angered — some local pilots who couldn’t believe well-liked pilot Sheaffer would knowingly enter restricted air space, which, since September 11, 2001, has been in place for 30 miles around D.C.

Lancaster pilot and Vintage Aero Club secretary John Henderson, 71, said he’s sure Sheaffer and Martin knew they were not supposed to be flying over Washington D.C.

“I’m certain he didn’t know (he was that close to the capital). I’d bet money on that. I think they got lost, which is not difficult to do.” Henderson said he knows both men and speculated that they just made a dumb mistake by not taking a global positioning system device on the plane.

“GPS makes life so simple for a pilot,’’ he said. “It also depicts restricted airspace.” But it is up to the individual pilot to take the GPS device along. The club does not have a GPS device for its members to use.

[Desertrose]

34. As a former resident of Lancaster Co...I am not real surprised.....

I'm glad they wren't shot down...but yeah, the phrase "dumb dutchman" does immediately come to mind.......


I think they just happened to be a timely distraction for bushco*.

Wonder how many other small planes violate airspace but never make the news or cause evacuations....wouldn't you think that two planes crashing into the WTC and one headed for the pentagon might cause at least as much concern as the tiny Cessna?

Things that make ya go HUH?!

[Bozita]

23. Wonder if he's a pal of a guy named Parlock

a fellow Pennsylvanian.

[jobycom]

25. Proving once again the IQ of the people who vote for the Moron.

[ooglymoogly]

27. a fake grenade here

a fake whitehouse attack there gives the corporate press cover...what the heck i never heard a no leaked british memo

[youspeakmylanguage]

28. I don't understand how stupid people can be sometimes...

If I were a private pilot there is no way in hell I would come CLOSE to Washington DC. Simply fly commercial or take the long way around. It isn't difficult to understand.

[DulceDecorum]

29. More to the story.

So, about that pilot.

The federal government decided not to press charges against the two men. Sheaffer, however, will likely lose his pilot's license for a minimum of 60 days for flying into restricted air space.
http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/14288

Here is part of Shaeffer's FAA record. As you can see, his license is a bout to run about any old how. So that "loss" of flying privileges does not even count as a slap on the wrist.

Name : SHEAFFER JR, HAYDEN LOWERY
FAA Region : Eastern
Date of Medical : Jun, 2003
Class of Medical : 3
Expiration of Class 3 privileges : Jun, 2005
Airman Certificates : Private Pilot
Airplane Single Engine Land

What is much more interesting to me is how the plane is out of compliance with its FAA registry obligations and NO-ONE has uttered a single peep about that.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1465235&mesg_id=1465831

And this is NOT the first time that Smoketown has recorded an incident involving Bush and his restricted airspace.

July 12, 2004
"The Secret Service and the FBI were here asking them all kinds of questions," Mel Glick said.
In fact, when the pilot and his passenger first saw the helicopter pull up beside them, they thought it was part of an air show.
"She was admiring the helicopter next to them," Becky Glick said. "They had no idea they were doing something wrong."
Instead of finishing the flight, the two rented a car. On Sunday, they returned to their plane.
http://www.thewgalchannel.com/news/3521585/detail.html

Those PR flacks recycle all their "good" ideas.
I cannot resist throwing this gem at your feet.

Published: Oct 28, 2004 12:58 PM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - For the most part, President Bush delivered his standard stump speech here Wednesday.
His joke about Vice President Dick Cheney not having the “waviest hair in the race” wasn’t exactly off the cuff.
He used that line in Onalaska, Wis., in Dubuque, Iowa, and in Greeley, Colo., this week alone. He used it in Hershey last week — and at least 50 other times since August, according to the White House press office.
Bush did, however, depart from his unwritten script in a big way, one that made news across the nation.
The president broke his silence on 377 tons of explosives that are missing from an Iraqi weapons depot. Democrat John Kerry, citing the missing stockpile, has accused Bush of being incompetent in managing postwar Iraq.
Bush fired back for the first time, while speaking at Lancaster Aiport, by accusing the Democrat of not knowing all the details.
“A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief,” Bush told an estimated 20,000 supporters at the Manheim Township airport.
Bush said the military is “now investigating a number of possible scenarios, including that the explosives may have been moved before our troops even arrived at the site.”
Pentagon experts are also suggesting the explosives could have been moved before the United States invaded in March 2003.
Outside of Lancaster County, that was the big news, reported in The New York Times, The Washington Post and on National Public Radio.
But locally, the simple fact that the president was in town seemed to overshadow the importance of his remarks.
NO LONGER ONLINE AT
http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/9383

Published: Oct 27, 2004 1:34 PM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - President Bush, scouring for votes less than a week before the election, implored some 20,000 cheering supporters here to “do everything you can” to “make America a safer country, a strong country.”
<snip>
The Victory ’04 Rally here was Bush’s first stop in a daylong sweep of major battleground states today. He was traveling to rallies in Ohio and Michigan this afternoon.
The blue and white Boeing 757 carrying the president and first lady Laura Bush touched down at the airport at 11 a.m. It is the largest plane to land at the airport in its 55-year history.
<snip>
The gridlock emanating from the Manheim Township airport also made many employees late for work and many Manheim Township School District students late for school today.
Early in the president’s 35-minute speech, eight protesters in the crowd shouted, “Bush must go!”
They were escorted away from the crowd and taken to a “free speech zone’’ several hundred yards away from the rally.
At least one protester was dragged away by his collar.
Dozens of other protesters, confined to a cornfield several hundred yards from the rally, held a mock funeral procession with 72 flag-draped coffins representing the 72 Pennsylvanians killed in the Iraq war. Several carried signs, including one that read “Bush lies, kids die.”
The “Smoketown Six,” a group who has protested recent Bush visits to the area by re-enacting the human-pyramid photo of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, was also present.
At the rally, Bush was flanked by Republican candidates for statewide office, as well as the county’s GOP legislative delegation. Democrat Zell Miller of Georgia, a staunch Bush supporter, accompanied Bush to the stage.
NO LONGER ONLINE AT
http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/9362

So what else is new?

[dkofos]

30. Dumbass

Now bend over

[Rob Conn]

31. A little casual journalism suggesting a hoax

5/12/05

9/11 fact seekers are chuckling privately amongst themselves this week about the media coverage of the wayward Cessna that violated D.C. airspace on Wednesday. It would appear that the event has provided a timely opportunity for the Bush administration to counter a rising tide of media and public criticism regarding serious flaws in our national security that have not been adequately addressed since 9/11. For many who follow the administration closely, these perfectly timed PR events are far too frequent to be viewed any longer as merely coincidence.

The plane left Smoketown, PA in the afternoon with a pilot and trainee on a straight flight path heading directly over D.C. on their way to an air show in Luberton, NC. Every pilot in the North East knows you can't fly over D.C, especially a flight instructor. Before they entered restricted airspace, the military attempted to contact them, however their radio was 'not operating properly'. Later they shot flares at them to redirect their path, but that was also unsuccessful. So the jets were scrambled.

"Two F-16 fighter jets joined by a Blackhawk helicopter and a Citation jet from the Department of Homeland Security, confronted the private plane in time to shoot it down..." - L.A. Times, John Hendren, 5/11/05

Before it reached the Capitol, that is. The pilot later claimed to have been flying intentionally without navigation instruments, and that they became lost, despite having been traveling in their intended direction upon interception. The story doesn't hold water. Sounds a little too much like the type of gross incompetence used as an excuse for the failures on 9/11.

The response of our military appears to have been swift and effective. Very much as it had been on many previous occasions. With one clear exception. The military was able to ground the plane in Maryland, but not before they had started a full evacuation of government buildings in the Capitol. Evidently the bunch haven't had too many terror drills, because some of our legislators panicked, and went running wildly through the streets. Most news stories of the event make it clear that we intercepted the plane before it became a real threat to the Capitol. Most also make it clear that there were four aircraft deployed to handle one Cessna. Personally, I figure the Blackhawk could handle the situation by itself, and probably should have. The jets fly too fast to make good visual contact, which is the first priority in such an interception. Instead we hear news stories of an overwhelming response, and successful application of safety procedures. So the pilots lied, the military response was dramatic, and the story comes right on the heels of several news stories in the past couple weeks about the inadequacy of our "Homeland" defenses. We might ask ourselves if this is all just a coincidence. And we might also think we have the most probable answer to that question. Lets consider what is likely a related example.

The capture of Saddam Hussein has turned out to be as much a hoax as the rescue of Jessica Lynch. Both were produced by a secret Hollywood production team working closely with administration PR firms. Its like watching 'reality' warfare. Every fact is manicured for our reception.

"Sergeant Nadim Abou Rabeh, who participated in the operation that netted Saddam, was quoted in the Saudi newspaper "Al-Medina" saying that the Iraqi leader was actually captured the day before and that "the public version of his capture was fabricated." The entire event was apparently choreographed by a Pentagon public relations team." - Counterpunch.org, Mike Whitney, 3/11/05

It turns out that he's not telling the whole story either. A few sources turned up suggesting that the Kurds had captured him, and that our military had taken him from the Kurds, and then taken credit by producing yet another 'dramatic re-enactment' of events. The Kurds were vocally pissed for a couple of weeks, but no one ran the stories, and they were intimidated by someone(?) to cease their kvetching. Says the author, "We only hear one side. And this administration not only gives us just one side, but makes it up as they go. They exercise a blatant disregard for the principle of public oversight that is the foundation of journalism. The media are used as tools for manipulation rather than education to the extent that stories are created or molded to fit the desired interpretation."

Back to the Cessna. A front-page NY Times article on 5/7/05 stated that, "After spending more than $4.5 billion on screening devices to monitor the nation's ports, borders, airports, mail and air, the federal government is moving to replace or alter much of the anti-terrorism equipment, concluding that it is ineffective, unreliable or too expensive to operate." So what the government has implied, in the interest of spending more money, is that we have not been safe for the past four years. That's some really bad PR for Homeland Security and the Bush administration. Five days later its Homeland Security Jet to the rescue. And scaring a few of those legislators who just voted a half-billion dollar cut in the Homeland Security budget couldn't hurt the cause. Low cost, few witnesses, and a big payoff. Bingo? You decide. Either way, hoax or not, the administration is definitely getting a couple of miles out of this one, but also giving the fact seekers something to chew on. The whole event dramatizes the incredible lack of response encountered by the 'hijacked' airplanes on 9/11. Thankfully, they rarely get to have their cake and eat it too. - R.C.

[mitchum]

33. From asskissing to tarmac kissing...

that flying tool sure has a curious relationship with his emperor