Prez Bush: strange approach into SJC?

[cointyro]

Hello All!

As I was running this evening at 7:30 PM Pacific in the Menlo Park / Palo Alto area (near PAO, Palo Alto Airport), I noticed a strange approach pattern. Several SWA 737's and a Northwest A320 flew only 1 or 2 thousand feet above, gradually turning through a NW to SE heading, going down along the bay, presumably towards SJC.

This was very unusual, they seemed very low, and I've never seen this pattern before. I only assume it was into SJC... were the winds out of the south? Why were they turning all the way out by PAO? To avoid Moffett Field where presumably Air Force One was parked today with Prez Bush visiting?

Thanks for any ideas! Very interesting to hear the jets screaming by overhead... could hear the flaps being extended and the whine as the pilots adjusted the throttles...

 

[Delta3]

Did he land at Ames Field, I thought it was SJC.

When he has visited Atlanta in the past they have chosen ATL and not Dobbins AFB, but I don't know why.

As for the traffic, when I saw him land at ATL in 2001 the traffic went on as usual until about 10 minutes before he landed. Then all traffic was stopped until he landed.

 

[WrightAvia]

I remember when slick willy came to CGX

It was a weird day to begin with. We flew a conquest and two Navajo's into CGX to pick up 15/18 business people from some company that wanted tour a property or factory in Sturgeon Bay, WI. That evening we had to be back into Meigs, drop off our pax's and be off the ground by 5:00 PM. I went outside the signature to help my pax load luggage into their limo's and was there to see Mr TBM/Malibu show up with his wife and daughter. They seemed to not know about the Presidents visit and got arrogant with the secret service men screening at the door. It was kind of funny, because at the door, you got a guy with a black suit and tie on, leather gloves and a hand held metal detector wand in his hand. You KNOW he is armed. Then, the guy in jogging suit and timberland rain suit top. What the hell is he packing. Then there were all the fat assed chicago cops standing around, waiting for the assault doughnuts to attack. Then the other secret service people in uniform wearing their plain colored BDU's, running all over the place. Who knows how many jarheads were waiting in the wings to jump out and save democracy for the world...but there I was.

I was glad to get out of there on time and it was funny watching all the helicopters ringing the gauntlet...whether they were police or military, they definitely set a ring around the city and we were warned before we left...stay on course...don't make any funny moves.

Weird day. And it all started out with a special VFR clearance to get in...after all the IFR guys were going missed with low ceilings. But THAT, is another story.

 

[56xdriver]

Yeah, the winds were out of the south tonight, so they had everybody going into SJC doing the JAWWS(sp?) arrival, which basically takes you up the west side of the valley up and over Palo Alto and then you intercept the final approach courses for rnwy 12L/R. We had to do that arrival coming in tonight and it added another 25 minutes to the flight time. I much prefer coming in and landing on 30 at SJC instead of screwing around going around the long way at low altitude sucking down the fuel!

 

[cointyro]

Low altitutude is right... these guys seemed at pattern height over PAO and the west end of the Dumbarton Bridge as I was driving home at 5:30 PM. Saw several biz jets hauling at 200 kts down the bay coast. Way lower than I usually see them; doesn't this interfere with PAO? Or is Class D start at a very low cieling there?

 

[56xdriver]

Not sure what the top of the Class D is, but they were vectoring us over PAO at 2,500 ft for the ILS into 12R into SJC. The speed thing is right though, they had a big backup of aircraft going into SJC tonight and they told us to maintain 180 kts or greater until 5 miles out from the airport.