Sky Security A Priority For Super Bowl

MIAMI --

South Florida's top police brass are getting ready to secure Sun Life Stadium and keep football fans safe at Super Bowl XLIV.

Some of the world's most sophisticated aircraft will fly over South Florida during the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. In fact, there will be two temporary flight restriction zones from 4 p.m. to midnight on the game days, including a 10-mile zone around the stadium that is a no-fly zone, except for approved aircraft, and a 10-miles zone that will be monitored heavily.

"We are the eyes in the sky. We also have the capability of down-linking video to a ground station so they can see what we see in the aircraft," said Mark Harris of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

"Every aircraft that operates inside 30 miles must be what we call squawking an assigned beacon code and communicating with air traffic at all times," said FAA Operations Manager Moses Eshkenazi.

The restriction will not affect commercial air travel, but it will affect anyone else in the skies. Enforcers have the equipment to handle just about any situation.

"The hardware you see here today is the best we can muster from the federal government, the state and local authorities, and there is hardware that will be available and on scene that you don't see here today, as well, to ensure safety," said Cmdr. Steve Branham, of the Seventh Coast Guard District.

Most of the enforcement officers will be keeping curious aviators and uninformed pilots away from the venue, but the crew of a Homeland Security Blackhawk helicopter is in charge of something called the endgame tactical resolution.

"Should the individual continue to be non-compliant and it results in a situation where we feel that he is now a threat or he is not communicating with the assets in the air ,then we will escort that individual or what we call a force-down if need be," said Eddie Agraig of the Department of Homeland Security.

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