- By Charlotte Boynton
Wiscasset Newspaper
Wiscasset, Maine
July 18, 2002
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- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not be
looking into an incident that occurred at Maine Yankee July 11 when a low
flying aircraft flew within 20 feet of the Maine Yankee dome, because it
is not against FAA regulations to do so.
-
- According to a report given by Katherine Ferdinand, a
spokesperson for Maine Yankee, plant security officials spotted the plane,
which flew over the dome twice and headed for the Wiscasset Airport.
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- Security officials called the Wiscasset Police Department
with a description of the plane, asking them to see if it landed at the
airport. According to a police report on the incident, it did not land.
-
- However, according to Arlene Salac at the FAA office
in Washington D.C., and Mike Muchmore, the airport's fixed based operator,
the plane did, in fact, land at the airport.
-
- According to Salac and Muchmore, the plane was going
to land on runway seven but because of a tail wind during his first approach
the pilot did not think he could make a safe landing. The pilot flew over
the Maine Yankee dome and turned around, landing on runway 25.
-
- Air space over the closed nuclear power plant is not
restricted, according to the FAA, but regulations do restrict planes from
"loitering" over nuclear power plants.
-
- David Lackey of Senator Olympia Snowe's office, who was
also checking out the incident, said that there is an Airman's Advisory
that "strongly suggests avoiding air space over nuclear plants."
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- Aircraft Flying Low Over Maine Yankee Raises
Alarm
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- By Greg Foster
Lincoln County News
Damariscotta, Maine
July 26, 2002
-
- A private plane flying low over Maine Yankee in Wiscasset
on July 9 has prompted an investigation of safety procedures in place to
track, communicate with and investigate aircraft that breach airspace over
nuclear power facilities. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is leading the charge
for answers the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA). "In order to provide effective security
for small and rural communities, a comprehensive strategy much include
the assessments of the threat to nuclear plants posed by light aircraft
navigation," Snowe said this week following information about the
incident. A security guard spotted the low-flying plane and immediately
reported it. The company immediately informed the FAA, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Wiscasset police,
company spokesman Eric Howes said. Air traffic controller at Brunswick
Naval Air Station ultimately identified the plane by its tail number, according
to Snowe.
After investigating the violation of an FAA advisory against low flights
over nuclear plants, the FAA determined it was an inadvertent flight, Snowe
said. The pilot of the plane was reportedly attempting to avoid a collision
with another incoming small plane landing at Wiscasset Municipal Airport
by circling once and twice coming in the vicinity of the plant. Maine
Yankee currently does not have a no-fly zone but does have the advisory
for which the company has a particular security protocol, company spokesman
Eric Howes said. The FAAís Notice to Airmen Advisory warns pilots
that flights near nuclear facilities may be reported and investigated.
"Small and rural communities must have confidence that the Administration
is working to safeguard the local airspace around these facilities,"
Snowe said. To that end, Snowe announced this week that she has requested
a thorough security briefing and feedback on way to prevent violations
of airspace over nuclear facilities by light aircraft.
She wants the FAA and TSA to provide information on the types of actions
that need to be taken to quickly assess and respond to such potential threats
to security. "While the incursion into Maine Yankee airspace did
not materialize into a threat, it highlights the need for continued security
awareness," Snowe said. Snowe, who serves on Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation whose task is to oversee aviation
safety, considers it imperative that air traffic controllers, local police,
and nuclear safety personnel have the ability to communicate and determine
whether actions by aircraft present a security threat to a nuclear facility
and surrounding community, including decommissioning plants like Maine
Yankee.
"Importantly, these officials must be given clear procedural and safety
guidelines to promptly respond to potential threats from non-commercial
aircraft," Snowe said. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 during
periods of the high threat to homeland security, the NRC and FAA have taken
steps to close airspace over nuclear facilities, but currently that is
not the case for Maine Yankee, which is no longer operating. With the present
medium level of threat, the FAA has reopened airspace around nuclear facilities.
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- http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=1384
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- Plane's Flight Near Yankee Spurs Inquiry
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- By Bob Kalish
Times Record
Brunswick, Maine
July 23, 2002
-
- WISCASSET - Following a low-fly incident near the closed
Maine Yankee nuclear power plant, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, asked
two federal agencies to review safety procedures designed to protect nuclear
power facilities.
-
- Snowe made the request to the Federal Aviation Administration
and the Transportation Security Administration.
-
- "In order to provide effective security for small
and rural communities, a comprehensive strategy must include the assessments
of the threat to nuclear plants posed by light aircraft navigation,"
Snowe said. "I am requesting that the FAA and TSA provide information
on the types of actions that need to be taken to quickly assess and respond
to these threats. Small and rural communities must have confidence that
the administration is working to safeguard the local airspace around these
facilities."
-
- Snowe is a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, which oversees aviation safety.
-
- According to Maine Yankee spokesman Eric Howes, the incident
occurred on July 9 when a light plane was spotted by the plant's security
at low altitude over the plant, which has been in the process of being
decommissioned since 1997.
-
- "Our security did just what it is supposed to do,"
Howes said. "It notified the FAA, the FBI, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission and the Wiscasset Police."
-
- Air traffic controllers at Brunswick Naval Air Station
eventually identified the aircraft by its tail numbers and the FAA determined
that the flyover was "inadvertent," caused when a plane approaching
the Wiscasset Airport circled to avoid another approaching plane.
-
- Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the FAA issued a "Notice
to Airmen Advisory" warning pilots that flights near nuclear facilities
may be reported and investigated. The Wiscasset Airport changed its procedure
so that planes landing there approach the airport from the other side so
they don't fly over Maine Yankee airspace.
-
- "Since the FAA advisory last fall," Howes said,
"we're seeing very few planes."
-
- But Snowe, upon learning of the incident, requested a
security briefing and feedback on ways to prevent violations of nuclear
airspace by light aircraft. She also is seeking an explanation of safety
procedures in place to track, communicate with and investigate aircraft
that breach the airspace of the nation's active nuclear facilities as well
as those being decommissioned, according to a statement released by her
office.
-
- Dave Lackey, Snowe's spokesman, this morning said the
senator wanted to be sure the incident didn't highlight a problem.
-
- "A light aircraft wouldn't pose a threat to Maine
Yankee," Lackey said. "But the senator wanted to make sure authorities
have the proper information to respond."
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