FAA Restricts All Private Aircraft Flying Over Nuclear Facilities
Washington, D.C.
October 30, 2001
In response to the FBI's security alert yesterday, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice today placing additional restrictions on private or general aviation flying in the airspace surrounding 86 sensitive nuclear sites.

All general aviation flying is prohibited within a radius of 10 nautical miles and below 18,000 feet of the 86 sites. Each of the sites and its location is listed in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), which is available at http://notamweb.nas.faa.gov.

This prohibition is in effect immediately and is planned to last until midnight, Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 6, 2001. The only exceptions are medevac, law enforcement, rescue/recovery, emergency evacuation and fire-fighting flights when authorized by air traffic control (ATC). The ban on flying over these sites is in addition to previous flight restrictions the FAA has imposed throughout the U. S.

"The FAA realizes these restrictions inconvenience general aviation pilots and airports," FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey said. "As the FAA and other federal agencies continuously review measures to ensure national security, we look for the understanding and cooperation of the general aviation community," she stated.

As before, the FAA strongly urges all pilots to check applicable NOTAMs and to call their local Flight Service Station at 1-800-WX-BRIEF before taking off.

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