Another small aircraft strayed too close to the Capitol this week, causing yet another panicked evacuation. While there's nothing quite as satisfying as seeing the political elite pushing old ladies out of the way while scrambling for their lives, these careless pilots are doing serious harm to general aviation. They are not completely to blame, since the no-fly zone around D.C. extends out 15 miles. That's well outside the capital beltway. But just like clockwork, the useful idiots of the left come out to bash general aviation and talk about what a danger small planes are to national security.

One of those was none other than John Loftus, a former Justice Department prosecutor. During the last scare, Loftus said that we should have shot the single engine Cessna out of the sky. This morning he was calling all the talk shows around D.C. telling them that the government should take a "war on drugs" approach and start seizing airplanes. He thinks that the threat of taking people's airplanes away will make them think twice before straying too close to Washington. (It's worked so well for the war on drugs.)

Loftus blamed the problem on know nothing hobbyists that were just out for a stroll. Never mind that this was a corporate owned twin engine turbo-prop. When the facts weren't lining up the way Loftus wanted them to, he started rambling on about "spoiled rich kids" and "millionaire playboys" out riding around in their toys. The class envy was enough to make my blood boil.

General Aviation, while expensive, is not reserved for the super-rich. A single engine prop aircraft can be gotten for much less than a nice bass boat or luxury SUV. And your pilots certificate is only $3000 to $5000 away. (My Microsoft certification cost that much.) Class envy is a powerful tool, and the antis know it. They want to ban general aviation and they cannot do it without perpetuating the image of selfish rich kids playing with daddy's toys.

Loftus actually called pilots selfish, and claimed that one of these small aircraft could easily be filled with enough chemical weapons to kill 80,000 people. Of course so could your station wagon, and nobody sends out fighter jets when you get within 15 miles of the Capitol in one of those. You could pack 100 times as much chemicals or explosives into a Ryder truck.

Then there is the usual whines: "These people don't file a flight plan" and "They take off from airports that don't even have control towers." Oy, it's all been said before, and it's all meant to confuse the uneducated.

And just why should a person in a 1000 pound single engine plane file a flight plan? Imagine if you had to ask for permission and provide routing information to a government agent every time you wanted take the minivan out to visit grandma. People just coming and going as they pleased, imagine that.