[Criminal Number 18F]

OK. Let's look at some facts here.

1. The Mooney M20 series was built in the 1950s and 60s. The M20C was built in the mid sixties and was one of the first Mooney models to have metal wings and tail (the M20B was actually the first).
2. Mooneys are popular because they are relatively fast - 150 knots - on relatively low horsepower - 180, these numbers for a new M20C... a 40 year old one might not make that speed.
3. They way they get more speed from less power is by being light and small. A Mooney is pretty tight inside -- some would say "claustrophobic." This is not a luxury machine.
4. While a new Mooney (which has a lot of upgrades over the older ones) is very expensive (in the $300s), an M20C is a $40- to $60,000 plane, depending on how much the instruments and avionics have been updated and the condition and hours of the motor. Some people spend that on a boat, or snowmobiles for the family... lots of people spend that much on a car or SUV. Point being, this guy isn't Rockefeller.
5. Because of insurance, this might be a flying club or partnership plane, but it is unlikely to be an ordinary rental.
6. There is a VFR corridor around the tip of Manhattan. Except for where it crosses Manhattan in Harlem, it is all over water. Altitude is below 1000' -- and the minimum altitude is >500' above "any person, vessel, vehicle or structure." It isn't unusual for someone flying in this corridor to get it wrong. It only gets noticed (by the press) in times of high alert. See here [nrg.org] for some pre-9/11 photos.
7. After 9/11, the VFR corridor was closed for a while, but later re-opened, with some changes. A good article with before and after charts, from 2002, is here [avWeb.com]. For current info see here [germaise.com].
8. Not answering LGA's calls would be consistent with an inadvertent violation of LGA's airspace -- he wouldn't have had LGA's or New York Center freqs dialled in. Your radio not only has to be working, it has to be tuned to the right frequency. When you're in the VFR corridor, you are supposed to be tuned to 123.075 on the East River side. If you're approaching LGA around there, you should long since have been talking to NY Center on 127.4 or LGA on 126.05!
9. A terrorist would probably turn his transponder off. This one stayed on, squawking VFR. (That's a setting of 1200 on a transponder).
10. The intercept was done by a police helicopter -- a nearer match to Mooney performance, which can get closer, safer, than a military jet. The cops have ways of making folks land, and they can always call Uncle Sam if they suspect terrorism and need back-up.

I understand that people feel creeped out when weird things happen with airplanes. Guys and gals, these weird things happen all the time, and they're usually not as big as the press (which also gets creeped out, and blows things up way larger than necesssary) makes them seem. Do you know what's probably going to happen? The pilot is going to have to talk to an Inspector from the FAA. Depending on his explanation, and his attitude in general, he is going to get one of the following:

• a severe tongue-lashing
• a written reprimand
• remedial training
• "certificate action": which itself can range from a 30 day, basically honor-system grounding, to complete cancellation of all ratings... if you want to fly again, you have to begin at square one, IF they let you.

Let's just say I wish I knew a lot less about how that all works.

It's always risky to predict what FAA will do, but I suspect that this guy will get remedial training, unless he mouths off, in which case he gets 30 days on the beach (maybe with the remedial training at the end). He would be well advised to get some dual with a local instructor -- ground and air -- before he tries the VFR corridor again.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Criminal Number 18F]

I wrote: "Because of insurance, this might be a flying club or partnership plane, but it is unlikely to be an ordinary rental. " I meant to add, it is probably an owner-operated plane.

The Delaware registration confers certain tax advantages. Look at a mid-siized and up pleasure boat in Miami, or Martha's Vineyard, or Long Beach -- chances are 50-50 it claims to be homeported in Wilmington (as another FReeper has pointed out).

bootless, ping to you for a kinda dumb aviation story.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[_Jim]

Thanks for your effort on that informative post that gets us much closer to 'a full set of facts'.

[Ed Condon]

Thought all aircraft were supposed to monitor "guard" frequency, VHF 121.5 and/or UHF 243.0

[bootless]

Thanks for the facts... and you're right. The mainstream media is not too swift in covering everyday new stories (like, uh, our government), and is even less adept at aviation.

I'm about to skip over to Avsig to see what's up. But it's probably not much ... airspace incursions are expensive forehead-slappers. I'll bet he gets the bill for the NYPD escort, too.l

[HairOfTheDog]

Good post.

[snopercod]

Good post C-18F.

I spilled my guts over on the parallel thread, here.