Originally posted by Disneyanna0521
i hope what i am about to say doesnt start a fight...if u want to argue im me or pm or e-mail me :disneyanna0521@aol.com
being gay is wrong. i am so glad i am not down their now
You just had to ruin this thread with your comment didn't you? We've already had
two threads in the WDW general discussion forum related to that topic.
Originally posted by Yellow Shoes
Where are other no-fly zones?
I would guess there are quite a few.
And it's the FAA that determines where they are, not local government.
Actually, they're determined by the FBI
and the FAA. The FBI tells them which places they feel are the most threatened, and the FAA will make the no-fly zones. Many no-fly zones were already in effect before 9/11 (no flying over the President at any time, or the White House, NASA facilities and certain shuttle landing areas, and some military/government facilities). The other no-fly zones mentioned by
jaylenofan86 are
places that attract a great number of people (WDW, Disneyland, all major sporting events (baseball, football, NASCAR and Indy/CART races), etc),
are a national significance (Washington, D.C., WDW, Disneyland, etc), or
can pose a major health/economic crisis should they be attacked (nuclear power plants, etc). A partial listing of the current Special Interest NOTAMs (notice to airmen) can be found
here.
As for actual safety from an aerial attack at WDW, there's still a lot of things to be afraid of. I'm not saying or implying that anything is going to happen, but it was in the planning stages with the terrorists and such an attack
could happen in the future. The whole 3 nm radius and 3,000 ft agl (above ground level) no-fly zone is a joke for general aviation. By the time anything serious could happen it would already be over by the time the Air Force could respond.
If WDW wanted total air security for the theme parks several critical items are missing from the current protection.
First, there needs to be several Army or Marine Corps attack choppers (AH-1 Cobras, AH-64 Apaches, or the AH-64D Apache Longbow would be great) on constant stand-by stationed somewhere on or extremely close to Disney property. This way if an attack is by a low-level, slow moving aircraft the choppers can intercept it in time from any direction from WDW. The choppers can come in fast, intercept the aircraft and try to force them to land, or ultimately shoot them down with either their chain guns or AA (air-to-air) missiles before they can pass over the resort area.
Second, the no-fly zone needs to be widened as much as possible and increased in height all the way to the floor of those sections of Orlando's Class B airspace. Right now an aircraft flying at 3,001 feet above ground level can dive bomb and kamakazi into something significant without any warning or anything to stop it. The important thing is to expand the airspace so, should an aircraft enter it illegally, the combat pilots will have more time to take the appropriate actions.
Third, there should be some kind of controlled airspace in a radius for a following 10 nm beyond the no-fly zone. Perhaps some kind of Class C airspace would work best. This would allow pilots to pass through the airspace (but not the no-fly zone), but before they enter the airspace they
must establish radio contact with the controlling agency before they can legally enter the airspace. Upon enterting the airspace each aircraft is issued a four digit code for their transponder, and that allows the people looking at the radar to know which aircraft is which on their radar screens. Should an aircraft deviate from their flight path or not follow the controller's instructions, then the combat aircraft can be scrambled and intercept the intruder aircraft before it poses a threat to the resort area.
Finally, there should be constant CAPs (combat air patrol) around central Florida, especially during the busy seasons. Terrorists want to kill the maximum number of people, so the chances of a strike during the off season is less likely than a strike during summer or between Christmas and New Year's. The Navy, Air Force and Marines have a wide range of fighter aircraft (F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon, F-18 Hornet and soon the F-22 Raptor) that can easily respond to an emergency at a moment's notice should it be 30 nm away at 500 ft agl, or 2 nm away at 45,000 ft agl in a nose dive.
Remember people that most of the general aviation aircraft flying today pose little to no threat to people or buildings. It would take something special like a crop duster with canisters of biological/chemical weapons, or a multi engine propellor or jet aircraft full of fuel and fully loaded with explosives to do anything major to the parks. Remember a while back when a kid committed suicide with his stolen Cessna 172 in Tampa, FL? He was flying at full speed and barely managed to break the windows in the office building that he hit. Another suicidal person crashed his small aircraft into the White House (many years earlier) and did microscopic damage to the building, but totally destroyed his aircraft and took his own life in the process.
General aviation is not the enemy here, but we do need more restrictions around certain areas just in case the wrong people get their hands on the right kind of equipment and intend on killing a lot of innocent people. A place like WDW or Disneyland is too sweet of a target for a blood thirsty terrorist, and as stated before by someone a major attack can completely devestate the Florida tourism economy and tourism to other major theme parks across the world.
I myself have been a licensed pilot here in Atlanta, GA for over five years, and these small aircraft cannot do anything in significance as compared to a van or rental truck packed with explosives (WTC attack #1 and Oklahoma City, anyone?)
Sorry for the long post everybody, but some things are better when they are fully explained in detail.
:lookaroun
