FAA shuts down El Paso airspace for 10 days and won’t say why
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checks calendar Ah, yes, I see it here right on the schedule. Today is a day ending in Y.
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Given this administration's ineptitude, I'll wager it has something to do with ... Canada.
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How would the New Orleans portion of the NOTAM figure-in to operations at Ft Bliss?
https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_2231
https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_2231
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I have been to El Paso a few times, but always fly in and out of the Ciudad Juarez airport (makes it a domestic and cheaper flight for me). The distance between the two airports is about 20 km, a bit more than 10 miles, but they must share airspace. I wonder if this closure affected the Juarez airport as well.
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It also raises questions about basic competence in our defense/national security systems.
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Shit. It does sound like paranoia but, all joking aside, that's exactly what could happen. For national security purposes you close specific airports near cities that tend to vote a certain way. Then you get the courts to declare all those votes invalid because they were "late".
I can just imagine several administration officials wringing their hands saying, "Eeeeexcellent, this is so crazy it just might work."
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Ronald Dump just learned of its existence and thought it was a secret Mexican colony.
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Edit: oh well, ignore that. I actually went to each page of the comments to search for "drone" to see if it'd been reported. But for some reason, the Ars comment section started messing with find in page searches and sometimes doesn't actually go to the matches at all, unless I force-reload the page after I first click on the comments. 
View attachment 128094
(no comment on the truth, just what they claim)
View attachment 128094
(no comment on the truth, just what they claim)
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From a Bloomberg reporter on Bluesky:
https://bsky.app/profile/mgerrydoyle.bsky.social/post/3melotrfrus2i
https://bsky.app/profile/mgerrydoyle.bsky.social/post/3melotrfrus2i
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The NOLA NOTAM is from surface to 2,000 feet. My guess this is so law enforcement can fly surveillance drone during Mardi Gras.
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obviously this and the bridge nonsense is an effort to stop the Mexi-Canadian Overpass.
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chateauarusi
Ars Praetorian
Latest claim from anonymous dmin sources is that the airspace was closed so the military could defend against an incursion of drones operated by Mexican cartels. (ninja'd just above as I was writing this)
I'm not interested in buying a Canadian bridge, either.
This smells like a half-assed cover story. "Let's make up a reason for the incident that makes us sound competent while also reinforcing our existing talking points about the threat represented by an outside enemy!" It makes absolutely no sense at all that Mexican cartels would want to attack an American airport for no reason.
I'm going to guess the actual event was (1) DOD starts planning some operation that requires notification to FAA, (2) nobody is left who knows the proper procedure because everyone who isn't a loyalist has been removed, (3) random DOD flunky calls FAA with bellowing dick-waving demand, "we're doing something, keep everyone out," (4) FAA shrugs and says "sure OK LOL." And now they're scrambling to make it make sense.
I'm not interested in buying a Canadian bridge, either.
This smells like a half-assed cover story. "Let's make up a reason for the incident that makes us sound competent while also reinforcing our existing talking points about the threat represented by an outside enemy!" It makes absolutely no sense at all that Mexican cartels would want to attack an American airport for no reason.
I'm going to guess the actual event was (1) DOD starts planning some operation that requires notification to FAA, (2) nobody is left who knows the proper procedure because everyone who isn't a loyalist has been removed, (3) random DOD flunky calls FAA with bellowing dick-waving demand, "we're doing something, keep everyone out," (4) FAA shrugs and says "sure OK LOL." And now they're scrambling to make it make sense.
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Nah, not buying it. Ft Bliss is BIG and if that's the issue then they can test somewhere else.
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You may jest, but I've seen credible reports in recent years of people in the US not knowing that NM is a part of the USA.
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The military has multiple facilities all over the Continental US dedicated to weapon testing, why would they test near a major municipal area and/or civilian airport? And no disrespect to the US Army or Ft Bliss, but why would they be conducting "anti-drone" testing at an army base? I would think such work would be led by USAF or USN assets.
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Trump and MAGA promised to drown the federal gubmint in a bathtub and by gawd, they are doing it. Amazing to watch our country slip away...
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Sounds lust like Venezuelan drug boats to me…. They need an excuse to invade Mexico so we claim Mexico is invading us first. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but trumps guys don’t have much in the way of imagination and they use the same playbook over and over.Edit: oh well, ignore that. I actually went to each page of the comments to search for "drone" to see if it'd been reported. But for some reason, the Ars comment section started messing with find in page searches and sometimes doesn't actually go to the matches at all, unless I force-reload the page after I first click on the comments.
View attachment 128094
(no comment on the truth, just what they claim)
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Do you mean like the entire White Sands complex which has been used for testing for .. (checks notes) .. 81 years, and is just up the road from Ft Bliss?
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There's always the 3x a week Amtrak between New Orleans and LA. If it's less than an hour late at most intermediate points it's doing pretty well.
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The NOLA NOTAM is a ban on most civilian drone use during Mardi Gras. In the context of the NOTAM, UAS = drone. These bans are fairly standard for large events and gatherings, e.g., similar bans of 3 NM around college and pro sports events. Also, note that unlike the El Paso TFR, advance warning was given and the NOLA TFR is still going to take effect.
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So reading between the lines of the various reports, it sounds like the DoD (or someone) was flying drones out of Ft. Bliss without notification to the FAA, who in turn issued a unprecedented TFR to protect commercial aircraft around El Paso, which the administration is now attempting to cover by blaming cartel drone incursions. Sound about right?
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The so-called "West" Virginia is also suspect, but everybody knows that New England is a state -- Why else would they have their own football team?
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The real reason… Somebody told Trump “El Paso” is a Spanish word and he wanted the airport closed until he could rename it “The Pass.” We speak English dammit!
/s
/s
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BobbyBobberson
Ars Scholae Palatinae
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/faa-grounds-all-flights-to-and-from-el-paso-until-feb-20
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the airspace closure was due to a drone breach.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the airspace closure was due to a drone breach.
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Well we know they're lying and/or incompetent (likely both), because it doesn't take 10 days to shoot down a drone.Edit: oh well, ignore that. I actually went to each page of the comments to search for "drone" to see if it'd been reported. But for some reason, the Ars comment section started messing with find in page searches and sometimes doesn't actually go to the matches at all, unless I force-reload the page after I first click on the comments.
View attachment 128094
(no comment on the truth, just what they claim)
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Lots of USAF guys who drew the short straw or thought working in the nuclear industry sounded sexy in a recruiters office.
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Juarez (right across the border from El Paso) is a hot bed for cartels, so the cartel excuse isn't THAT far off. It reeks of poor communication between the FAA, DoD, and especially the local gov't. It's not like poor FAA/DoD communication has caused any issues. Oh, wait...
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These seem like the most obvious explanations to me.
From Bluesky:
View: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3melogfl6ht2y
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