http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/limits_on_access_to_oiled_wate.htmlWhen a photographer from The Times-Picayune earlier this week tried to hire a plane to fly over Grand Isle, the charter plane company was told that the flight could not descend below 3,000 feet.
Southern Seaplane owner Rhonda Panepinto said her husband called the BP Command Center on Tuesday for permission to fly photographer Ted Jackson over Grand Isle, so that he could take pictures of the impact of the spreading oil from the Deepwater Horizon well. But the plane company was told by a BP contractor that media flights weren't allowed in the restricted air space established by the Federal Aviation Administration.
"They told him absolutely no media or press on any planes. The press flights are limited to Saturdays only and only in Coast Guard helicopters," Panepinto said.
Southern Seaplane officials have complained about this restriction, as well as broader controls on their ability to fly other people into the "temporary flight restriction" area in the Gulf, to the FAA. The restricted area is large, including huge swaths of the coastline miles away from the Deepwater Horizon site. The 3,000-feet restriction means that photographers hiring private planes would have to fly so high they are unlikely to get clear photos of the ground.
In a statement, the FAA maintains that BP employees or contractors are not calling the shots on who gets to fly into the restricted air space, saying those decisions are made by the FAA and Coast Guard. But agency spokespeople acknowledge that media access is limited, saying they are only allowing flights into the restricted area that are directly related to the disaster response.
While news organizations won't be allowed to hire planes or helicopters, the FAA plans to arrange pool flights through the Coast Guard, said Laura Brown, the FAA's deputy assistant administrator for public affairs.
--------
The government is colluding with BP on restricting media and scientific access.