Neil
I think my own thought is pretty much the same as yours. If I were doing 75 MPH in a 55 MPH zone on the Interstate I'd still be a risk to the public. A Trooper and Judge would care less if I was speeding on purpose or by accident. I'd still be a risk to the public and would be ticketed. And rightly so.
Suppose the Blackhawk had not made the intercept and the two pilots in the Cessna wandered into a Boeing 737 full of passengers inside Class "B" airspace and caused a mid-air collision over Wash, DC?
The AOPA I believe should have had a position of defending General Aviation with a zero tolerence policy rather than defending the two pilots and their actions.
The AOPA is strongly against the ADIZ becoming more than temporary in the District of Columbia. I agree. But! It is still the law, whether we like it or not, we have to set a good example to gain public trust in General Aviation. Only when we have public trust can we gain public support to remove ADIZ's that serve no useful purpose to National Security.
The article explains how this incident happened and I can understand how it happened. But, as much as I feel sorry for them, it should not exonerate the pilots actions. The flight was a case of very bad judgement right from the start to finish. Being a good pilot is in fact about the use of good solid judgement.
May I also say I do appreciate and respect those who oppose the above view.
Best Regards to all
Robin Rebhan
Albany, NY
