Comments on: U.S. Capitol, White House Briefly Evacuated

By: MRP

MRP — Wed, 18 May 2005 20:33:25 +0000

Regarding the recent incursion into D.C. airspace by a Cessna 150, both the media and otherwise knowledgeable aviation buffs (including possibly the DHS) keeps dismissing the plane's potential danger based solely on its small size.

Apparently, no one is aware that a Cessna 150 can be readily modified to carry as much as 400lbs. of "additional" payload, thereby doubling its original capacity.

Engines of double the original 100HP and high-lift STOL wings have been fitted to these planes for use as powerful glider tugs, and for all practical purposes, one cannot identify one of these modified 150's simply by looking at it.

For years, just such a modified 150 was flown out of the former Issaquah, WA airfield by its owner, Lin Emerick. This tiny aircraft, often laden with a passenger (I was lucky enough to get one of those rides, operating the towline release), would daily tow two-place gliders [very quickly] to altitude. Aside from a large 3-bladed prop, the plane looked like any other Cessna 150.

I'm just curious, but does anyone happen to know the size and weight of a small nuke?

Thank you.

MRP
Washington State

By: Mike Trettel

Mike Trettel — Thu, 12 May 2005 12:08:27 +0000

McGehee, yes it was a Cessna, although I'm not 100% sure I believe it was a 150 (same model as yesterday's scare). As I recall, it was stolen from an airport in Edgewater, MD with the unlicensed pilot simply following I-95 south past Baltimore and on to DC. He ended up over the Mall area, made a U-turn somewhere about the Washington Monument, and then plowed into the western facade of the White House. There wasn't much of the aircraft left, just a crumpled ball of cruft. A 150 weighs less than a VW Golf, and would be a poor choice for a flying bomb.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Wed, 11 May 2005 23:45:26 +0000

...even a direct hit on a major government building would result in very little physical damage to the building.

Wasn't it a Cessna that was crashed into the White House a few years back? Did that guy even manage to rattle any windows?

Still, the OKC bomb was a crude device; there are certainly more efficient ways to pack a lot of power into a bomb than manure and fuel oil.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Wed, 11 May 2005 23:43:44 +0000

Or maybe the fence isn't tall enough for pilots to see the signs?

By: McGehee

McGehee — Wed, 11 May 2005 23:43:07 +0000

ABC's John Nance asks and answers a question many have had: How Could a Pilot Stumble Into White House Airspace?

Um, no signs on the fence?

By: Jeff Quinton - Backcountry Conservative

Jeff Quinton - Backcountry Conservative — Wed, 11 May 2005 18:25:43 +0000

Intercepted Aircraft Information
Different news channels are reporting different amounts of information on the plane that violated the no-fly zone around Washington and got to within 3 miles of the White House earlier today. The media reports are all obviously getting their info...

By: Truth. Quante-fied.

Truth. Quante-fied. — Wed, 11 May 2005 18:20:43 +0000

Plane Scare at Capitol
This can be a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. If a plane comes into restricted airspace and ignores warnings to leave immediately, and you shoot it down, you risk killing an innocent pilot whose plane malfunctioned. If you don't shoo...