Does anyone have an idea of where in the archives AvWeb found that information?
Sorry, I haven't even had time to listen to this, but this may answer your question Digger.
THE CAPITAL-GAZETTE: Pilot ordered to land just before crash; Radio traffic indicates violation of air defense zone
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY
Just minutes before a small plane crashed near Tipton Airport outside Fort George G. Meade Thursday, killing both people on board, an air-traffic controller told the pilot he was flying in a restricted air space without clearance, according to recorded scanner traffic.
"You are violating the (Air Defense Identification Zone). You need to land at Tipton immediately, and I'll have them give you a phone number for air defense," the unidentified air traffic controller said at 3:42 p.m., according to a recording posted at
http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kbwi/KBWI-Oct-19-2006-1930Z.mp3.
The problem - according to the scanner traffic and experts who have heard the recordings - is that the pilot did not get a special transponder code before taking off from Tipton and entering the Air Defense Identification Zone.
The ADIZ is restricted air space that extends about 40 miles from Washington , D.C. General aviation pilots are allowed to fly in it, but must file a flight plan and get a clearance before taking off or entering it.
After hearing the pilot say he would immediately comply, the controller added: "I'm too busy to give you that phone number. Maybe you'll get away. Just turn it (your transponder) off and land and call us on the phone for clearance."
But it will never be known if Daniel L. Eberhardt, 57, of Illinois and his friend Bobbi Getz, 56, of Pittsburgh , would have gotten in trouble with the Federal Aviation Administration.
As the pilot - presumably Mr. Eberhardt - came around, the six-seat Piper Malibu Meridian lost altitude, clipped a tree, and crashed at 3:45 p.m. about one-half mile from the runway.
Any pilot caught violating the ADIZ can be subject to the suspension or revocation of his flight certificate and possible fines, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
If a pilot doesn't respond to air-traffic control commands and agree to land, fighter jets will be scrambled to escort the plane back to the ground, local pilots and airport officials said.
Mr. Eberhardt's family was unaware of the apparent ADIZ violation.
"It kind of sheds a different light to it (the crash)," Stan Sypien, Mr. Eberhardt's son-in-law, said yesterday. "Our thought was that it was something mechanical, as far as the fast turn-around."
National Transportation Safety Board officials are still investigating what caused the crash. They found no obvious mechanical or structural problems when they did their on-the-scene examination last week.
Tom Eberhardt, Mr. Eberhart's brother, said this wouldn't have been the first time his sibling got in trouble with the air defense zone.
"He stumbled into it once before and paid a fine," he said. He said he had "an idea" why his brother might not have done everything he was supposed to do last Thursday, but declined to speculate.
Local pilots and airport officials say pilots from elsewhere in the nation don't always remember the air defense zone is there.
"There are incidents where people are flying in from other parts of the country and ... they don't understand they are supposed to file a flight plan," said Michael Wassell, manager of Tipton Airport .
"They might be more likely to trip up on some of the procedural steps," said Chris Dancy, spokesman for the AOPA.
According to the AOPA, which openly campaigned against the air defense zone, the FAA has tracked more than 2,000 ADIZ violations - including one involving the governor of Kentucky - since it was established in February 2003. None has been terrorist related.
AOPA argues the zone creates "significant safety hazards" for pilots, adding that the rules are complicated and time-consuming to follow.
But Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the AOPA, declined to comment about last week's crash.
"It's way to early to say ... what role the ADIZ played in the accident," he said.
Tom Eberhardt said both he and his brother supported the AOPA's campaign to do away with the air defense zone.
"We greatly support the AOPA, particularly what they've done since 9/11," he said. "They kept us in the air."
The ADIZ is in addition to the Flight-Restricted Zone, which restricts all noncommercial air traffic from flying within 17 miles of Reagan National Airport . The Flight-Restricted Zone was established after Sept. 11, 2001.
According to the AOPA, the air defense zone encompasses 19 public-use airports, which accounts for nearly 900,000 flights per year.
NTSB investigators refused to comment about the radio traffic this morning.
David Muzio, the inspector in charge of the investigation, confirmed Friday that the pilot spoke to air-traffic controllers moments before the crash but did not broadcast a distress call. He said he was waiting to listen to the official FAA recordings.
The liveatc.net recording was posted on the Website by an enthusiast with a specially modified radio scanner. The Website's postings are not official, but are widely considered accurate accounts of what was said over open radio channels.
Mr. Muzio said the plane appeared to be returning to the airport when it hit the tree, sheering branches at a 40-degree angle.
The plane arrived at Tipton three days before the crash, according to Mr. Muzio. He said it came from Illinois via Pittsburgh .
The wreckage was packaged and moved to a recovery facility in Clayton , Del. , on Saturday.
Final radio communications
The following is a transcript of the final radio communications between Daniel L. Eberhardt and a local air-traffic controller, as recorded by liveatc.net. The direct link to the recording is
http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kbwi/KBWI-Oct-19-2006-1930Z.mp3. Mr. Eberhardt was flying a Piper Malibu Meridian with tail number N9130N. According to the recording, the plane's transponder was set at the default frequency 1200. The plane crashed moments after this conversation ended, although the wreck was not mentioned on open channels.
CONTROLLER: "N9130-November, go ahead."
PILOT: Transmission garbled by static.
CONTROLLER: "N9130-November, you are squawking 1200, is that correct?"
PILOT: "Roger that."
CONTROLLER: "You are violating the ADIZ. You need to land at Tipton immediately and I'll have them give you a phone number for air defense."
PILOT: "Landing at Tipton Immediately. 30-November."
CONTROLLER: "30-November, I'm too busy to give you that phone number. Maybe you'll get away. Just turn it off and land and call us on the phone for your clearance."
PILOT: "Roger."
