Narrative:

I was participating in a pilot proficiency program and flying out of pease/portsmouth, nh. Currently I fly a beech 55B baron. WX in the northeast and new england states was all at minimums. All airports reporting 200-300 ft ceilings, 1/2-1 mi visibility in fog. The air was saturated by the passing of tropical storm opal and dewpoint temperature spreads were only 1-2 degrees. My instructor and I decided that we would fly up to bangor as they had low WX and a combination of approachs. Upon listening to ATIS and arriving at bangor we requested the ILS runway 15 approach. The GS did not give a proper indication so we shot the localizer to 700 ft. At minimums we saw nothing and went missed. This time we requested the ILS again and my instructor simulated a single engine approach which went smoothly, and was performed to minimums, field in sight. Since I had never done an ASR approach we did this next and at the minimums of 700 ft never saw the ground. On the miss we requested an approach in the opposing direction, the NDB runway 33, as traffic was light. Approach vectored us to the final approach course. I do remember him saying, cleared for approach, maintain altitude until established, and circle left. I acknowledged the approach clearance and the maintain altitude but did not acknowledge the circle left clearance. The circle left clearance left my brain sometime in the next 10-15 seconds. Upon reaching MDA we broke out (WX was higher on this side of airport), and I quickly decided that a left downwind, northeast of the runway offered the best circle to land option. The ceiling was ragged in all quadrants. Abeam the numbers of runway 15 I determined that I could not continue the circle to land due to miserable looking stuff off the approach end of runway 15. I declared a miss, and was given instructions and vectors to the ILS. I flew the ILS to minimums and landed without incident. This is where the story begins. Mr tower controller said turn left next taxiway and hold short so I can yell at you for a while. He said 'stupid (or something like it), I told you to circle west east south T of runway, there are obstructions and terrain onthe east side that are dangerous. Taxi in, someone is coming to talk to you.' not looking for a fight I said 'sorry, we were going to request our clearance back to pease and depart, and won't be able to attend the conference' (let's get the hell out of here, they are not friendly in maine). Mr tower says, absolutely not, taxi to the ramp. Feeling like a piece of crap I taxi in. My instructor is looking at me going he said left (left turn), I heard left, my passenger (private, multi- engine) heard left. We all studied the approach plate again, looking for reference to the 'terrain east of the runway.' there is no restr for flight east or west in a circling approach. Shut down the engines, wait 10 mins and here come the guys in the suits. One still has the ear-piece with the coiled little wire running down under his jacket. Only problem is their identify is not FAA stuff, these credentials say secret service. Ok. So gentlemen, what's the problem? Are you the pilot of the airplane that flew low over the hotel? No way I'm saying yes to that question, I know anything I say can, and will be held against me. After a min or two of semantic gesturing I confess that of all the pilots in the terminal, I am probably the one he is looking for. He tells me the hotel is a secured zone, someone important, he can't say who, is there for 4 hours. Have to investigate things like low flying barons. Very politely he asks for some identify, apologizes for the inconvenience, and disappears. I'm happy, but a little pissed. Any day of the week I would rather be met by the cia, the secret service or the fbi than meet the FAA. Taxiing out we see one of the old 707 united states of america air force ones that are now relegated to flying people like the vice president around. As a matter of fact every news wire, tv, radio and paper covered news of vice president meeting with a soviet prime minister. I flew through their secure airspace. I have a hard time with the following: it was public information that vice president was there but they did not tell pilots, on ATIS or otherwise. Yet the press,and public knew. It was not a secret meeting. It is not right to aviation safety. At circling minimums, circling with right turns makes it difficult for the pilot to keep the runway in sight. The safety of our flight should not be compromised on a day with minimal WX so that we do not fly over a hotel that the vice president, president, or pope are in. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: reporter states he was on an IFR flight plan the entire time so if he flew over the hotel he was told to. The hotel is in the terminal building so any kind of circling approach is going to be near it or almost over it. Reporter feels some heads up notice to pilots by controller or on ATIS would have been helpful. For tower to treat the vice president and russian personnel as a secret did nothing to assist pilots. Reporter has heard nothing further from this incident. The secret service agent was very courteous and admitted he knew nothing about flying and accepted reporter's explanation of what occurred. Since the standard circling approach is 'left' it is not unusual that all 3 pilots heard left, not west.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SMT ACCUSED OF FLYING OVER HOTEL WHERE VIPS WERE IN CONFERENCE.

Narrative: I WAS PARTICIPATING IN A PLT PROFICIENCY PROGRAM AND FLYING OUT OF PEASE/PORTSMOUTH, NH. CURRENTLY I FLY A BEECH 55B BARON. WX IN THE NE AND NEW ENGLAND STATES WAS ALL AT MINIMUMS. ALL ARPTS RPTING 200-300 FT CEILINGS, 1/2-1 MI VISIBILITY IN FOG. THE AIR WAS SATURATED BY THE PASSING OF TROPICAL STORM OPAL AND DEWPOINT TEMP SPREADS WERE ONLY 1-2 DEGS. MY INSTRUCTOR AND I DECIDED THAT WE WOULD FLY UP TO BANGOR AS THEY HAD LOW WX AND A COMBINATION OF APCHS. UPON LISTENING TO ATIS AND ARRIVING AT BANGOR WE REQUESTED THE ILS RWY 15 APCH. THE GS DID NOT GIVE A PROPER INDICATION SO WE SHOT THE LOC TO 700 FT. AT MINIMUMS WE SAW NOTHING AND WENT MISSED. THIS TIME WE REQUESTED THE ILS AGAIN AND MY INSTRUCTOR SIMULATED A SINGLE ENG APCH WHICH WENT SMOOTHLY, AND WAS PERFORMED TO MINIMUMS, FIELD IN SIGHT. SINCE I HAD NEVER DONE AN ASR APCH WE DID THIS NEXT AND AT THE MINIMUMS OF 700 FT NEVER SAW THE GND. ON THE MISS WE REQUESTED AN APCH IN THE OPPOSING DIRECTION, THE NDB RWY 33, AS TFC WAS LIGHT. APCH VECTORED US TO THE FINAL APCH COURSE. I DO REMEMBER HIM SAYING, CLRED FOR APCH, MAINTAIN ALT UNTIL ESTABLISHED, AND CIRCLE L. I ACKNOWLEDGED THE APCH CLRNC AND THE MAINTAIN ALT BUT DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE CIRCLE L CLRNC. THE CIRCLE L CLRNC LEFT MY BRAIN SOMETIME IN THE NEXT 10-15 SECONDS. UPON REACHING MDA WE BROKE OUT (WX WAS HIGHER ON THIS SIDE OF ARPT), AND I QUICKLY DECIDED THAT A L DOWNWIND, NE OF THE RWY OFFERED THE BEST CIRCLE TO LAND OPTION. THE CEILING WAS RAGGED IN ALL QUADRANTS. ABEAM THE NUMBERS OF RWY 15 I DETERMINED THAT I COULD NOT CONTINUE THE CIRCLE TO LAND DUE TO MISERABLE LOOKING STUFF OFF THE APCH END OF RWY 15. I DECLARED A MISS, AND WAS GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS AND VECTORS TO THE ILS. I FLEW THE ILS TO MINIMUMS AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. THIS IS WHERE THE STORY BEGINS. MR TWR CTLR SAID TURN L NEXT TXWY AND HOLD SHORT SO I CAN YELL AT YOU FOR A WHILE. HE SAID 'STUPID (OR SOMETHING LIKE IT), I TOLD YOU TO CIRCLE W E S T OF RWY, THERE ARE OBSTRUCTIONS AND TERRAIN ONTHE E SIDE THAT ARE DANGEROUS. TAXI IN, SOMEONE IS COMING TO TALK TO YOU.' NOT LOOKING FOR A FIGHT I SAID 'SORRY, WE WERE GOING TO REQUEST OUR CLRNC BACK TO PEASE AND DEPART, AND WON'T BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE' (LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, THEY ARE NOT FRIENDLY IN MAINE). MR TWR SAYS, ABSOLUTELY NOT, TAXI TO THE RAMP. FEELING LIKE A PIECE OF CRAP I TAXI IN. MY INSTRUCTOR IS LOOKING AT ME GOING HE SAID L (L TURN), I HEARD L, MY PAX (PVT, MULTI- ENG) HEARD L. WE ALL STUDIED THE APCH PLATE AGAIN, LOOKING FOR REF TO THE 'TERRAIN E OF THE RWY.' THERE IS NO RESTR FOR FLT E OR W IN A CIRCLING APCH. SHUT DOWN THE ENGS, WAIT 10 MINS AND HERE COME THE GUYS IN THE SUITS. ONE STILL HAS THE EAR-PIECE WITH THE COILED LITTLE WIRE RUNNING DOWN UNDER HIS JACKET. ONLY PROB IS THEIR IDENT IS NOT FAA STUFF, THESE CREDENTIALS SAY SECRET SVC. OK. SO GENTLEMEN, WHAT'S THE PROB? ARE YOU THE PLT OF THE AIRPLANE THAT FLEW LOW OVER THE HOTEL? NO WAY I'M SAYING YES TO THAT QUESTION, I KNOW ANYTHING I SAY CAN, AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST ME. AFTER A MIN OR TWO OF SEMANTIC GESTURING I CONFESS THAT OF ALL THE PLTS IN THE TERMINAL, I AM PROBABLY THE ONE HE IS LOOKING FOR. HE TELLS ME THE HOTEL IS A SECURED ZONE, SOMEONE IMPORTANT, HE CAN'T SAY WHO, IS THERE FOR 4 HRS. HAVE TO INVESTIGATE THINGS LIKE LOW FLYING BARONS. VERY POLITELY HE ASKS FOR SOME IDENT, APOLOGIZES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE, AND DISAPPEARS. I'M HAPPY, BUT A LITTLE PISSED. ANY DAY OF THE WK I WOULD RATHER BE MET BY THE CIA, THE SECRET SVC OR THE FBI THAN MEET THE FAA. TAXIING OUT WE SEE ONE OF THE OLD 707 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AIR FORCE ONES THAT ARE NOW RELEGATED TO FLYING PEOPLE LIKE THE VICE PRESIDENT AROUND. AS A MATTER OF FACT EVERY NEWS WIRE, TV, RADIO AND PAPER COVERED NEWS OF VICE PRESIDENT MEETING WITH A SOVIET PRIME MINISTER. I FLEW THROUGH THEIR SECURE AIRSPACE. I HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THE FOLLOWING: IT WAS PUBLIC INFO THAT VICE PRESIDENT WAS THERE BUT THEY DID NOT TELL PLTS, ON ATIS OR OTHERWISE. YET THE PRESS,AND PUBLIC KNEW. IT WAS NOT A SECRET MEETING. IT IS NOT RIGHT TO AVIATION SAFETY. AT CIRCLING MINIMUMS, CIRCLING WITH R TURNS MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR THE PLT TO KEEP THE RWY IN SIGHT. THE SAFETY OF OUR FLT SHOULD NOT BE COMPROMISED ON A DAY WITH MINIMAL WX SO THAT WE DO NOT FLY OVER A HOTEL THAT THE VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT, OR POPE ARE IN. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES HE WAS ON AN IFR FLT PLAN THE ENTIRE TIME SO IF HE FLEW OVER THE HOTEL HE WAS TOLD TO. THE HOTEL IS IN THE TERMINAL BUILDING SO ANY KIND OF CIRCLING APCH IS GOING TO BE NEAR IT OR ALMOST OVER IT. RPTR FEELS SOME HEADS UP NOTICE TO PLTS BY CTLR OR ON ATIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL. FOR TWR TO TREAT THE VICE PRESIDENT AND RUSSIAN PERSONNEL AS A SECRET DID NOTHING TO ASSIST PLTS. RPTR HAS HEARD NOTHING FURTHER FROM THIS INCIDENT. THE SECRET SVC AGENT WAS VERY COURTEOUS AND ADMITTED HE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT FLYING AND ACCEPTED RPTR'S EXPLANATION OF WHAT OCCURRED. SINCE THE STANDARD CIRCLING APCH IS 'L' IT IS NOT UNUSUAL THAT ALL 3 PLTS HEARD L, NOT W.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.