‘Ottawa’ Security Concerns Raised Over Ottawa Airspace Violations
The restricted airspace over Parliament Hill and Rideau Hall has already been violated 14 times this year in a series of incidents that highlight the difficulty of securing the capital’s most sensitive facilities.
Among the offenders was a low-flying helicopter that violated both protected airspaces on the same day in late March. Contacted by air traffic controllers, the pilot said that his GPS was broken and he was having trouble finding the Casino du Lac Leamy.
The incident was reported both to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), according to a Transport Canada database that tracks federal airspace violations.
In the first seven months of this year, five aircrafts violated the airspace over Parliament Hill and nine penetrated the protected space over Rideau Hall, the grounds on which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family are living while 24 Sussex Drive is repaired.