The Day Nobody Flew
| Dates: | September 10, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Meets: | Thursday, September 10, 2026, 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon |
| Location: | The Carnegie |
| Cost: | $15.00 |
There are still openings remaining at this time.
"Operation Skyshield" reveals that the closure of the U.S. national airspace system after terrorist attacks in September 2001 was not the first. Once each fall during the Cold War, beginning in 1960, three exercises of unprecedented scope simulated an airborne attack by the Soviet Union and tested our military response across the entirety of North America, deploying more than 250,000 members of the military. Skyshield required every airliner and civil aircraft be grounded and all airports north of the Mexican border closed so that NORAD and the US Air Force along with British and Canadian allies could control our skies. Our presentation will examine the exhaustive planning behind Skyshield and its results, which were classified for decades and forgotten to history by the time an actual airborne attack came in 2001.
| Fee: | $15.00 |
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Fee Breakdown
| Category | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Course Fee (Basic) | Event Fee | $ 15.00 |
The Carnegie
10100 Washingtonian Blvd.Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Roger Mola
Roger Mola is retired from the Smithsonian, where he served as researcher and video editor for Air & Space Magazine as well as Smithsonian Books. Originally from Hicksville NY, Roger moved to Arlington, VA in 1983 after earning his B.S. at Cornell University. In addition to more than 1,000 published articles spanning history, aviation, technology and business, he has lectured at museums, libraries, and for professional and community organizations throughout the U.S. Roger has also served as instructor for the USDA Graduate School, Arlington County Community Learning, and the Chesapeake Forum. In 2002 he was honored as Aerospace Journalist of the Year by the Royal Aeronautical Society for his breaking news coverage of the groundings of the national airspace system following the attacks of September 2001, and for comparing them to the previous groundings in the 1960s during the largest national and civil-defense drill ever held: Operation Skyshield. Roger has earned marketing awards from IBM Credit Corporation; and been recognized for developing audiovisual, public affairs and training materials by the International Television Association and International Business Communications Association. Mr. Mola is rated as a Private Pilot with training in a dozen types of aircraft, and is an avid motorcyclist, with a passion for photography and history which has led him to 64 countries and 49 states.powered by ACEweb from ACEware Systems, Inc.