Anniston Star
September 6, 2002

Depot airspace violations prompt proposed legislation

By Amy Sieckmann
Star Staff Writer

A Lear-type jet flew at low altitude over the chemical weapons incinerator at Anniston Army Depot Thursday, in violation of an airspace ban put in place after Sept. 11, according to a press release from Sen. Richard Shelby's office.

The violation of the flight restrictions in place around the incinerator was just the latest of many such violations over the time since the ban was put in effect, Shelby's office said.

Alabama's senior senator and a Indiana senator offered an amendment to the Homeland Security bill Thursday in response to the latest incident. The press release said the amendment would require higher levels of government officials to take notice of such violations and consider if airspace violations or other airborne violations are threats to chemical weapons incinerators.

According to the press release, 22 violations of the incinerator's air space have occurred since the Department of Defense implemented the flight restrictions. One incident that Shelby cites as particularly troublesome was a nighttime fly-over that included three passes by an unidentified aircraft.

"While little, if anything, could be done to stop someone intent on attacking one of these storage sites from the air, we should take every step to make sure that these flight restrictions are respected and violators are punished," Shelby's statement said.

The amendment would require the Secretary of Defense to review the current temporary flight restrictions over the chemical weapons incinerators in Anniston and Indiana and report his findings to Congress.

It also asks the Federal Aviation Administration to issue reports on each violation of the temporary flight restrictions over the two incinerators.

The amendment also asks the Secretary of Defense to assess the use of periodic air patrols and military flight training exercises in terms of their effectiveness as a deterrent to airspace violations or other potential airborne threats to these facilities.

The likelihood that this amendment to the Homeland Security bill will become law remains to be seen, said Shelby's spokeswoman, Andrea Andrews. Congress is currently debating the Homeland Security bill, which would create a federal Department of Homeland Security.

If passed, the amendment would not cost the federal government any money other than the cost of a call from the FAA to Congress in the event of a violation, Andrews said.