The sky's the limit — or is it? Take a good look, because you won't be flying over these no-go zones any time soon.
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00:00The sky's the limit, or is it? Take a good look, because you won't be flying over these
00:04no-go zones anytime soon.
00:07Located in Peru, the ruins of Machu Picchu stand as testament to the Inca civilization
00:11that existed centuries ago. They are thought to date back to the 15th and 16th centuries.
00:16Machu Picchu, which means Old Peak, is today one of Peru's biggest tourist draws. It's
00:21also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
00:23Spread over a vast area, Machu Picchu features massive stone structures, a cemetery, and
00:27a temple. Since it's located at the end of the hugely popular Inca Trail, people from
00:32all over the world visit Machu Picchu on vacation, which has had both positive and negative impacts
00:36on the site itself.
00:38On the one hand, the increased revenue allows for the ruins to be preserved and taken care
00:42of. On the other, there have been a number of serious environmental consequences.
00:46A tourist who comes and goes leaves us with about 2 to 3 kilos of rubbish. They leave
00:52us with plastic bottles, fruit peels, and all of that.
00:55In 2006, the Peruvian government created a no-fly zone around Machu Picchu in response
01:00to a rise in low-flying helicopter tours. Environmentalists claim that the tours had
01:04the potential to hurt the indigenous fauna and flora in the area. The entire area is
01:08now off-limits to aircraft in an effort to preserve the site for future tourism, so new
01:13generations will always be able to experience these famous ruins.
01:16A relic of the Mughal Empire from centuries past, India's Taj Mahal has long been one
01:21of the most sought-out tourist destinations in the world. The structure dates back all
01:24the way to the 17th century, and it's widely known for its incredible Mughal-era architecture
01:29and decorations. The Taj Mahal itself is a giant mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, a former
01:3417th-century empress. But that is not the complex's only building. There are also mosques,
01:39gardens, and even a museum, and it has long been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage
01:43Site.
01:44Until the 2010s, there were no official restrictions on the airspace surrounding the Taj Mahal,
01:48but that changed following a series of complaints. In 2015, both archaeologists and the Taj Mahal
01:54Security Service requested that an official no-fly zone be instituted after the Indian
01:58military violated the mausoleum's airspace on multiple occasions. By 2019, the Taj Mahal
02:03had secured status as a no-fly zone, but even today, authorities are forced to warn off
02:08drone operators who enter the no-fly zone.
02:10In early 2022, what may have been a commercial aircraft was also seen flying above the Taj
02:15Mahal, prompting more outcries from archaeologists and security officials. A Twitter user captured
02:20footage of the airplane flying over the building, showing what may have been a commercial jet
02:24violating its airspace.
02:26Considering the many important governmental installations located inside Washington, D.C.,
02:30it's no surprise that the city is blanketed by some of the most restricted airspace in
02:34the entire world. D.C. is regulated by a special flight rules area that consists of a 30-mile
02:39radius outer ring and a 15-mile radius inner ring. The rings are centered on the Ronald
02:44Reagan Washington National Airport, which is located on the opposite side of the Potomac
02:48River from the White House.
02:50Travel within the 15-mile inner ring, which is designated as the Flight Restricted Zone,
02:54or FRZ, is especially controlled, and even unmanned aircraft such as drones are banned
02:58from flying. Drones are allowed between the inner and outer rings, but only if they meet
03:02several requirements. Commercial airlines flying to Ronald Reagan airports are allowed
03:06within the FRZ without a waiver, but everyone else needs explicit FAA clearance before entering
03:12or exiting.
03:13It is possible to get a waiver if you are a civilian aircraft, but you are probably
03:16going to need a pretty good reason to do so, as the FAA is widely concerned with making
03:20sure all politicians in D.C. are well-protected from any potential incidents. Flying over
03:25the White House itself is, of course, a huge no-go — unless you're the president, or
03:29happen to be on presidential business.
03:30Listen, the plane won't leave the airspace. Will you shoot them down?
03:35If required, we'll execute the rules of engagement per the command of the North American Aerospace
03:39Defense Command.
03:40Penalties for violating the special flight rules area include both civil and criminal
03:44consequences and monetary fines.
03:46To call relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, and the United
03:51States poor would be something of an understatement. In 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel,
03:58with the U.S. supporting the Republic of Korea in the South. Though the Korean War officially
04:02ended with an armistice in 1953, tensions have always remained high between the North
04:07and the South. As a result, the FAA does not allow any U.S. civilian aircraft to come anywhere
04:11close to the DPRK's capital at Pyongyang. The FAA first implemented these restrictions
04:17in 1997, and they have only become heavier as relations between the two Koreas worsened.
04:22Since 2014, the DPRK has been regularly launching missiles from Pyongyang into the Sea of Japan
04:28unannounced, while also jamming navigation and communication networks. This presents
04:33a very serious problem for civilian aircraft, as they have no way of knowing when a test
04:37might kick off.
04:38If one of these tests were to take place during a flight, the plane's communications and navigation
04:42equipment might not work properly. In 2022, the FAA put out a release that mentioned an
04:46increase in the frequency of ballistic missile launches from the DPRK. The release also suggested
04:51that the DPRK could potentially be testing nuclear missiles in the area. If one was to
04:56impact a U.S. civil aircraft, the results could be disastrous.
05:00One of the many consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been the restriction
05:03of civilian aircraft into and out of the country. The Russians invaded Ukraine in early 2022,
05:09and almost immediately Ukraine responded by shutting down civilian air access. This was
05:13done to ensure that no civilian aircraft were mistaken as military and inadvertently shot
05:17down by opposing troops. Tragically, this had previously happened in 2014, when a flight
05:22from Malaysian Airlines was shot down by pro-Russian forces, killing almost 300 civilians.
05:28In addition to the restriction of civilian aircraft, there have also been discussions
05:31about implementing an official military no-fly zone over the area of conflict while the war
05:35continues. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has asked the U.S. and NATO to implement
05:41and enforce a no-fly zone, but they have so far rejected calls to do so. Their reasoning
05:45is that enforcing a no-fly zone would risk escalating the war with Russia, as NATO would
05:50have to shoot down Russian aircraft in order to enforce a no-fly zone.
05:53President Biden has been clear that we are not going to get into a war with Russia."
05:59In addition, no-fly zones are extremely costly to enforce, averaging more than $1 billion
06:05annually.
06:06The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 affected air travel outside of Ukraine, too. Aircraft
06:11registered to many Western nations, including the United States, Canada, and Britain, are
06:15all prohibited from entering any part of Russian airspace. This has been the case since shortly
06:19after the Russian invasion began, when Western nations banned Russian airplanes from their
06:23airspace. While this was supposed to be a punitive measure enacted by Russian President
06:28Vladimir Putin, these Western nations probably would have imposed a similar ban on the registered
06:32aircraft anyways. This is because, similar to Ukraine, the likelihood of a mistake occurring
06:36in a civilian liner being inadvertently shot down is too much of a risk to take.
06:41The ban has affected other travel routes around the world, too, as airliners are forced to
06:44take alternative routes that are less fuel-efficient, leading to unnecessary stops and half-full
06:49planes. Some foreign aircraft are still allowed in Russian airspace, though, taking advantage
06:53of shorter routes and potentially costing the American airline industry billions of
06:57dollars each year.
06:58For nearly a century, bizarre and unexplained disappearances within the Bermuda Triangle
07:03have made it one of the most mysterious places on Earth. The intrigue dates back to 1945,
07:08when 27 Navy flyers on Flight 19 went missing under strange circumstances. One afternoon,
07:13five Navy bombers left Florida on a training exercise that was to take them through the
07:16Triangle, but they never returned. Transmission from their attempted return flight indicated
07:21they were off course and lost over the ocean, and when they stopped communicating, the Navy
07:25sent two rescue planes to investigate. One of the rescue planes also disappeared, and
07:29no trace was found of any of them.
07:31Ever since, legends have grown about the supernatural nature of the Triangle, which includes several
07:35other disappearances. While the Bermuda Triangle is not an official no-fly zone, countless
07:39people are wary of traveling in the area, and many avoid it completely. Rather than
07:43supernatural phenomena, more reasonable explanations point to the extreme weather conditions in
07:48the Triangle as the culprit behind most of these incidents, including Flight 19. In the
07:52aftermath of that particular disappearance, Navy officials determined that the planes
07:56had simply blown off course due to severe winds. In addition, a witness saw a plane
08:00explode and vanish into the ocean, suggesting they may have crashed into each other.
08:05Most people probably don't realize it, but there are over 160 active volcanoes in the
08:09United States alone. The most well-known is probably Washington's Mount St. Helens,
08:14which famously erupted on May 18, 1980, captivating the nation with its awe-inspiring natural
08:19devastation.
08:20The volcano's blasts have come with a vengeance today. The spectacle of the massive plume
08:25is one that few will forget.
08:27As incredible as it sounds, there are usually double-digit numbers of volcanoes exploding
08:31at any given time around the world, including right now. Obviously, trying to fly through
08:35a volcano is an absolutely terrible idea. As the International Civil Aviation Organization
08:40explained in a 2012 report, just being in the area of a volcanic explosion is extremely
08:45dangerous for virtually any aircraft. The hard glass particles and pulverized rock are
08:50capable of inflicting serious damage to the outside of an aircraft, and could potentially
08:54obscure the pilot's vision by damaging the windshield.
08:57In addition, the air inside the cabin could become contaminated by volcanic ash, and the
09:01electrical system faces the risk of short-circuiting. That doesn't even take into account the engine,
09:05which is very susceptible to damage from volcanic ash. Not only could the glass and
09:10rock damage the engine internally after getting sucked in, but due to the low melting point
09:14of volcanic ash, it could also cause the engine to fail completely. In short, flying toward
09:18an erupting volcano is about the worst thing a pilot could possibly do.
09:22A good pilot must be able to fly in all kinds of weather and environmental conditions. Mountainous
09:27terrain poses perhaps the greatest threat to an aircraft. Everything from changing winds
09:32to air pressure to variable temperatures all contribute to making mountain flying
09:35very difficult to master. That's why flying in Nepal, situated among the Himalayan mountains,
09:40can be such an arduous task. From 2012 to 2022, more than 130 people died in 10 different
09:46plane crashes in Nepal, and that doesn't include the other 10 plane crashes with survivors.
09:51Authorities pointed to the difficult terrain, extreme elevation, and changing weather conditions
09:55as catalysts for the majority of these accidents. Over a similar period, from 2009 to 2018,
10:00there were 21 aviation accidents that killed more than 150 people.
10:04Nepal is a beautiful country and a popular destination for tourists, but flying in safely
10:09is, unfortunately, something of a challenge.
10:12For all who come to this happy place, welcome.
10:16Since the 1950s, Americans have been able to experience the magic of Walt Disney in
10:19person by visiting either the Disneyland Amusement Park or Disney World Resort Complex. California's
10:25Disneyland came first in 1955, while Florida's Disney World opened in 1971. Today, millions
10:31of people visit each park every year.
10:33It might sound surprising, but ever since the September 11th terror attacks in New York
10:37City, both Disneyland and Disney World have been considered official no-fly zones. According
10:41to the FAA's Disneyland Notice to Airmen and the similar Disney World Notice to Airmen,
10:46the no-fly zones extend for a three-mile radius from each park and cover up to 3,000 feet
10:50in elevation. They're both considered national defense airspace, and both manned and unmanned
10:55aircraft, including drones, are prohibited from flying within it.
10:59Not everyone is a fan of this special status, however. As part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
11:03and the GOP's feud with Disney, conservative lawmakers have attempted to introduce legislation
11:08to abolish Disney's no-fly zones. The legislation was introduced by Representative Troy Nels
11:13from Texas and garnered the support of several co-sponsors, but it has yet to successfully
11:17pass through Congress.
11:18For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org