Unlike restricted areas, prohibited areas are significantly more challenging to obtain permission to fly through. Here’s what transpired when a pilot flew through a prohibited area over the Bush Family Ranch in Texas…
Prohibited Areas: Can You Secure Permission?
Prohibited areas are regions where flight is, as it were, forbidden. These areas are established for national security purposes and also to safeguard the environment. Here’s the technical definition provided by the FAA:
Prohibited areas encompass airspace of defined dimensions identified by an area on the surface of the earth within which the flight of aircraft is prohibited. Such areas are established for security or other reasons related to the national well-being. These areas are published in the Federal Register and are depicted on aeronautical charts.
Although it can be difficult, in certain cases, you may be able to obtain permission to fly through prohibited areas. If you contact the controlling or using agency prior to your flight, you can request permission to pass through the prohibited area. If the reason for your flight through is compelling enough, you might secure permission.
Where Are They Located?
Here is a list of some permanently prohibited areas that you will find in the airspace around the country:
- Thurmont, Maryland, the site of the Presidential retreat Camp David (Prohibited Area 40 or P-40)
- Amarillo, Texas, the Pantex nuclear assembly plant (P-47)
- Bush Ranch near Crawford, Texas (P-49)
- Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia (P-50)
- Naval Base Kitsap, Washington (P-51)
- Washington, D.C., the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and the Naval Observatory (P-56); refer to other restrictions for information about all Active Prohibited Areas in the Washington D.C./Baltimore Flight Restricted Zone.
- Bush compound near Kennebunkport, Maine (P-67)
- Mount Vernon, Virginia, the home of George Washington (P-73)
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota (P-204, 205, and 206)
If you take a look at the side of your VFR sectional chart, you will find the details of the Prohibited Area, including: prohibited area number, altitude (MSL), time of use (in local), controlling agency, and communication frequency. Our advice? Give prohibited areas a wide berth! Keep at least 10 miles away from their borders and always pay attention to where you are flying.
Pilot Violates P-49 Over The Bush Family Ranch
The following NASA ASRS report was filed a few years ago when a pilot flying around Texas in his Cessna 340 violated an expanded prohibited area near the Bush Family Ranch. Here’s what happened:
A few days before the incident, I flew VFR with flight following to PWG without any issues. The controllers didn’t mention that the P-49 area had been expanded into a larger TFR. I was unaware that a government official was there and that the TFR had been expanded from the ground to FL180 and had a diameter of 30NM. I picked up my wife, checked the radar and winds aloft screens on an aviation website, and didn’t see any areas of concern, so I drove to the airport. Once at the airport at approximately 600 feet AGL, I called Waco Approach for flight following and was told to “proceed towards ACT (Waco) and land for national security.”
I was given a phone number to call. On the ground, I spoke with the head controller at Waco Approach, explained the situation, and was told to wait for a secret service agent. We waited for around 90 minutes for the secret service agent to arrive. When he arrived, he interviewed my wife, myself, and inspected my airplane. After the agent completed his investigation, we were told that we could go.
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