Short Final: POTUS TFR

Editorial Staff

Monday, July 19, 2021 at 05:13 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

In 2004, a pilot successfully landed at Tampa Exec, an airport precariously close to a 10 NM POTUS Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) centered at Tampa International.
Air Traffic Control (ATC) explicitly instructed the pilot to "try real hard not to go missed" due to the TFR's no-fly zone almost encompassing the landing runway.
The landing was uneventful, but the pilot's taxi was later searched by serious-looking security personnel.
It turned out the search was a coincidence, as the pilot and President George W. Bush were staying at the same hotel that night.

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In 2004, I was flying to Tampa Exec when George W. had a POTUS TFR centered at nearby Tampa International. The TFR had the usual no‑fly 10 NM inner ring. Depending on where you measure it from, the two airports are 10.1 NM apart. As near as I could tell beforehand, the don’t‑you‑dare no‑fly ring extended to just about the far end of the runway I was planning to land on, Runway 23. The clouds and vis were well above the ILS minimums. ATC’s final instruction: “Yeah, try real hard not to go missed.”

Landed fine and all was well, until my taxi was later searched by very serious‑looking guys. Turned out that George W. and I were staying at the same hotel that night…

Scott Humphries

Houston, TX