I wonder if free access to the coast will now be given

According to what I have read. It sounds like BP.....who by the way the POTUS says is working closely with his admin so who the heck knows.

I should clarify that the no fly zone is limited to altitude. So maybe they are thinking there is a saftey concern. I dont get that because all flights must submit a flight plan do they not?

I doubt BP has fighter planes or anti aircraft guns. How would they stop over flights?

It is true and has been reported several times on local fishing boards. (I guess reports in message board dont make it true though it has been reported a number of times.)

I guess the pilots cannot get their flight plans approved? Other than that how else are flight zones restricted.

I will say I thought that the FAA controlled all that. If so I would think the govt is involved. I have no idea though as i am not a pilot.....just going off of what I have read.

I am sure there is a big push by BP to the Feds asking that the area be a "No Fly Zone" for those not involved in the area... It only makes sense b/c I would imagine that every Tom, Dick & Harry with a twin engine plane would run out there to get a "birds eye view" of the scene and surrounding Oil slick..

It only makes sense to me just from a logistical angle, but I'm no expert..just my 2 cents

I doubt there will be any increase in access. BP and the USCG specifically inquire about the presence of press when they review plane/boat manifests requesting approval...and likelihood of success is exponentially greater for pilots without any onboard media.

Boat manifests requesting approval? What are you talking about? The only restrictions i could see would be vessels working around the well or cleanup boats requesting other vessels to approach no closer than a certain distance so they can safely do their work.
Ex. It is pretty standard for vessels dragging seismic cable to request a substantial cpa from other vessels.

They restrict flying after a hurricane to prevent the gawkers and media helicopters getting in the way of the recovery efforts. I dont see why this is any different.

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They are restricting them because they don't want images of the damage. It would be even worse if the public really saw the truth.

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It is the same case for hurricanes.

was going to start a thread on this....

Just curious if anyone has been fishing or working out there and has layed eyes on oil (if so, how bad was it compared to what we see on tv)? Can you even launch boats anymore or is there military keeping the public out of the water? Figured somebody would have tried to go out to try to find oil to take video or pictures by now. I know it says they are keeping media out, but what if no media is on the boat?