Air Defense Identification Zone
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North America is surrounded by an area called the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which is jointly administered by the United States and Canada. This area, which is almost exclusively over water, serves as a national defense boundary for air traffic. Any aircraft that wishes to fly in or through the boundary must file their intention to do so with the appropriate authority before the flight. In the U.S., the FAA handles these requests; Transport Canada handles Canadian requests. Any aircraft flying in these zones without authorization may be identified as a threat and treated as enemy military aircraft. Usually this is not the case, though even a civilian aircraft that made a simple mistake will be intercepted by military fighter aircraft and forced to land.
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In 2003 the U.S. created a "temporary" ADIZ around the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The concept is to create a restricted zone for air traffic near strategically sensitive locations in the District of Columbia, such as the White House. This "temporary" ADIZ has created a lot of tension between the government and the pilots that fly in and around it. Despite the best efforts by the FAA to inform pilots of an ADIZ there are still many erroneous entrances by unsuspecting pilots. Many times the unfortunate pilot will get a military escort consisting of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter or a F-16 fighter jet to the nearest airport followed by a stern lecture. There have been two highly publicized mishaps inside this ADIZ. One involved a plane carrying the Governor of Kentucky. The other, almost a year later, involved a Cessna 150 piloted by a student and instructor. Both incidents led to the evacuation of the Capitol.
External links
- http://tfr.faa.gov - More information about Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) and ADIZ
- http://www.faa.gov/ATpubs/AIM/Chap5/aim0506.html - Intercept procedures
- http://www.aopa.org/adiz/adiz.html - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association online ADIZ courseja:防空識別圏