more on One DC-area pilot on air vs. ground vulnerabilities

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Mary Shaw <mary.shaw () gmail com>
Date: May 12, 2005 2:30:24 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on One DC-area pilot on air vs. ground  
vulnerabilities
Reply-To: Mary Shaw <mary.shaw () gmail com>


Does everyone understand what a Cessna 150 is?  It weighs 1100 pounds  
empty (that's pounds, not tons), its maximum gross weight is 1600  
pounds.

That gives it a load-carrying capacity of 500 pounds. That's total  
people and all the stuff, including the gas to fly the airplane!  The  
fuel tank holds 22.5 gallons, for 135 pounds, and it holds 6.5 quarts  
of oil for another 12 pounds. A standard person is 170lb, so with a  
pilot, full gas tank and enough oil that the engine won't sieze up  
before you get to your target you can carry less than 200 pounds of  
anything else menacing.

I've flown these things. You can fly them over gross weight, but not  
by much if you actually want to get off the ground.

Compare this to a Chevy Suburban, with an 8600 lb GVWR, 2800 lb  
payload, and a 37-gallon fuel capacity.

The Suburban is almost 6 times as heavy at max weight, has almost 6  
times the payload, and could carry almost two fully-loaded Cessna  
150s if you could fit them inside.

That Cessna 150 should be off in its hanger snickering quitely about  
scaring an entire city.

Mary


On 5/12/05, David Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:

Begin forwarded message:

From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com >
Date: May 11, 2005 11:40:09 PM EDT
To: politech () politechbot com
Subject: [Politech] One DC-area pilot on air vs. ground vulnerabilities

[Identifying info snipped. Received this too late for the earlier
roundup. --Declan]

---

I like the way you think!  I think it is widely accepted, but not widely
understood, that freedom was the real target of the 9/11 conspirators.
Unfortunately, it is STILL under attack...from within... which is also
exactly what was hoped.

If you missed this from a few weeks ago, here is the headline
published in
the UK regarding the most recent FRZ incident prior to today.

Incoming cloud forces Bush into safe bunker

I still have hope that there are those who will look at this incident
today
as evidence that the currect security construct is flawed and that
expanding
its reach through the air IS the wrong response.  The security apparatus
continues to react to under the guise of perceived terrorism with
consideration for only select consequences.

In my view, until every building in DC with a parking garage has a "SUV
Restricted Zone" (an SRZ), or only commercial buses with pre-boarding
security screening services and codeword access can drive people in
and out
of DC, I question the security restrictions currently imposed on
access to
the NATIONAL Airspace System within ~30 miles of DCA. (BTW, I don't want
surface movement restrictions to happen either - I also oppose the
closing
of PA Ave.)

Instead, there is a foolish mis-perception generally that weapons
delivered
by air are of the highest and only serious threat.  All other threats
are
assumed to be nearly zero.  It is unfathomable to me that the current
threat
mitigations are assumed and perceived to be adequate.  Moreover, these
perceptions and assumptions are being perpetuated by the "Security
Apparatzi" instead of systematically challenged - which satisfies my
definition of group think. The result is called a "false sense of
security."

Coincidentally, I saw NBC4 DC's report describing the US Capitol train
tunnel vulnerability.  If anyone needs a map, you can download it
from the
news site.  Here is an excerpt from
http://www.nbc4.com/news/4471435/detail.html :

"It's an important link. All southbound Amtrak trains go through the
tunnel,
as do commuter trains.

The tunnel passes under and near some of Washington's iconic Capitol
Hill
buildings, including the Supreme Court the Capitol itself. An explosion
below could shake the center of government."

Do I need to ask if anybody calculated the payload capacity of an entire
train lately?

While the consequences of another terrorist attack on DC are arguably
unquantifiable, I cannot see that the method of delivery will matter
or that
another attack will be total in its success.  The current security
infrastructure for airborne threats comes at the equally unquantifiable
expense to liberty, and the considerable expenses of such general
disruption
and allocated security resources.  These are the real consequences;
not the
specific well-being of any ONE person.

If someone walks down the street with a gun visible and holstered,
should
they be immediately arrested and questioned? Well, if you drive a
white van
or fly a plane near DC on some days, the answer is becoming... yes. The
proof for this argument just came over the wire:

Pilots Responsible For Capital Scare Won't Be Charged

This is exactly the evidence of "free society" hypocrisy that terrorists
cherish, and provides additional fuel for their recruitment efforts.
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