The FAA (Once Again) Makes Ferguson a No-Fly Zone

As sporadic violence and looting continues overnight in
Ferguson, MO, the FAA has
issued flight restrictions over the St. Louis
area, offering only “to provide a safe environment for law
enforcement activities” as a reason for the flight ban.

If that sounds familiar, it should. The same reason was given
for locking down the skies last summer, when clashes between police
and protesters became a nightly occurence for weeks, following
unconfirmed reports of shots fired at a police helicopter.

But as noted by
Reason‘s Peter
Suderman,
the Associated Press uncovered audio recordings which confirmed
“local authorities privately acknowledged the purpose
was to keep away news helicopters during violent street protests.”
The AP added:

“They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out,”
said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series
of recorded telephone conversations obtained by The Associated
Press. “But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything
else that could be going on.

At another point, a manager at the FAA’s Kansas City center said
police “did not care if you ran commercial traffic through this TFR
(temporary flight restriction) all day long. They didn’t want media
in there.”

Unlike the earlier unsubstantiated rumors of shooting, there is

no doubt that shots have been fired by protesters in Ferguson
tonight. The FAA and local law enforcement may genuinely fear for
the safety of their own aircraft.

Still, judging by their heavy-handed
response to far more peaceful protests last August, it’s
hardly out of the realm of possibility that the Ferguson police
would prefer to limit the amount of press coverage of their efforts
to pacify the unrest.