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Another idiot making us all look bad

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Yeah, it was near here....no way he wasn't going to get caught either. (Or, at least -- the plane ID'd.)
 
Not Part of the Solution? You're Part of the Problem

Last month on the VAF forums, there was a thread regarding buzzing and a suggestion that anyone who turned in someone who did this sort of thing was no friend to aviation. Think this was the first time the aforementioned pilot pulled this kind of stunt? Probably started with buzzing his home airport and his friends taking pictures and telling him how cool it looked. If he isn't identified, think this is the end? Think he can only hurt himself?
Last week on the forums, someone listed an NTSB link that allowed a search of reported RV accidents over the past five years. Interestingly, the greatest single cause of fatal accidents (over 25%) was "buzzing" or low level aerobatics.
Yeah, I really believe that I "owe" this guy something because he's a pilot. Hope he never flies again. Maybe that would get some other idiot's attention.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP
 
Yup, I agree with Terry - this is nothing but "bad" for everyone else. We DO owe one another professional behavior in order to keep all of our rights to fly intact.

While the TV report clearly brought out the point that professional pilots are "horrified" at this behavior (as we should be), it also introduced errors/misconceptions that non-pilots might remember that can hurt us. "The FAA said that unless a pilot is taking off or landing, they have to stay 1,000' above the ground." While true in a sense, there are times when it's not.....shortcuts by the media, of course - understandable, but nevertheless, not totally accurate. The other (slightly) humorous point was the "title" under the pilot at Hobby that commented about being Horrified by it. It had his name, and underneath it said "Millionair Pilot". I am pretty sure that means he was a pilot snagged for the interview at Millionair FBO - but the general public probably figures "great, just another millionaire pilot...."

Oh well, I sure hope the FAA got the N-number and the guy is made an example of by the aviation community.

Paul
 
Youtube videos






Four videos of the event in question were posted on Youtube (click on the hyperlinked pictures to view). I just can't believe it:eek:
 
I'll bet N134PS is getting a lot of hits off the FAA database this week. at least that is what the n number looked like to me on one of the videos, real easy to see on the fly by at the end of the video. It was the one that was out of focus a bunch at the start.


registered to :
KIRBOW TRANSPORTATION ENTERPRISES LLC
Street 3703 NEDERLAND AVE
City NEDERLAND State TEXAS

course, doing a google search for kirbow shows that my post is old news, its all over the place already
 
Few things do, but this makes steam come out of my ears (cartoon style). Last weekend, while biking in the park in our neighborhood, I looked up in amazement as an RV completed a roll at pattern altitude or lower over Breakaway Park (local airpark). You can bet that if I had the opportunity to catch the N number, I would definitely act. It ruined the whole rest of my day thinking about what all the other people in the surrounding park and neighborhoods that saw that were thinking.

This post may double as public warning if the above local pilot is on VAF.
 
What the heck - it's been I while since I've been in trouble here...

While I certainly don't condone this pilot's actions...
(insert sarcastic font) I'm sure that the "Jeep Club" was very well behaved on the beach that day and no member did any showing off or performed any reckless stunts with their vehicle of choice.

Remember - the pilot's reckless stupid behavior will get in the paper and result in enforcement action. The four-wheel driver, the boater, etc will simply be ignored.
 
N134PS

I'd be willing to bet this fool had friends at the Jeep gathering. License is gone for sure, and I'm curious to see what the fine will be.
 
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scard said:
Last weekend, while biking in the park in our neighborhood, I looked up in amazement as an RV completed a roll at pattern altitude or lower over Breakaway Park (local airpark). You can bet that if I had the opportunity to catch the N number, I would definitely act.
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Whoa, Scott. I'm sensitive to the fact that we must behave in a manner that does not further provoke fear and ill will among non-aviators (and aviators alike).

I'm well aware of the FAR's regarding aerobatic flight, but I'm curious what your main concern is. Is it that the pilot violated FAR's, or that you feel he risked the safety of those on the ground (I'd say a steep turn could be more dangerous), or that you feel he's provoking fear and anger among the neighbors? Maybe this is already a "sensitive" issue with your neighbors that you feel is being exacerbated by an inconsiderate pilot.

What if he was 500' higher and not directly over houses or people, but still well within sight/sound of the neighborhood? He'd be in accordance with the FAR's, but would it significantly change anything else?

I'm not saying the pilot is not causing problems in your neighborhood, I don't know. I'm not defending the actions of the pilot or saying it's OK to do acro over congested areas, I just think your action would be a little extreme, given the little bit of information you've shared. Do you really think anyone who lives on or near an airpark who is used to low-flying aircraft would really be shocked at this sight? Unless the pilot did something egregiously disrespectful, dangerous, and malicious, I think I'd have a polite conversation with him first, before reporting him to your local FSDO.

BTW, Most of the neighbors (if they saw it) probably thought it was cool. :)
 
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Correlation?

Hmmm, guess I don't see why it would be significant if someone on the ground were acting like an idiot as well. Neither ground nor air idiocy that endangers others is excusable. If your point is that scrutiny and penalties should be equally applied regardless of whether the irresponsible act occurred in the air or on the ground, I guess I am in agreement with that statement. Someone driving recklessly should be held just as accountable as someone flying recklessly.

Unfortunately as you note the pilot's actions will garner more publicity.

JDRhodes said:
What the heck - it's been I while since I've been in trouble here...

While I certainly don't condone this pilot's actions...
(insert sarcastic font) I'm sure that the "Jeep Club" was very well behaved on the beach that day and no member did any showing off or performed any reckless stunts with their vehicle of choice.

Remember - the pilot's reckless stupid behavior will get in the paper and result in enforcement action. The four-wheel driver, the boater, etc will simply be ignored.
Click to expand...
 
sandifer said:
Whoa, Scott. I'm sensitive to the fact that we must behave in a manner that does not further provoke fear and ill will among non-aviators (and aviators alike).

I'm well aware of the FAR's regarding aerobatic flight, but I'm curious what your main concern is. Is it that the pilot violated FAR's, or that you feel he risked the safety of those on the ground (I'd say a steep turn could be more dangerous), or that you feel he's provoking fear and anger among the neighbors? Maybe this is already a "sensitive" issue with your neighbors that you feel is being exacerbated by an inconsiderate pilot.

What if he was 500' higher and not directly over houses or people, but still well within sight/sound of the neighborhood? He'd be in accordance with the FAR's, but would it significantly change anything else?

I'm not saying the pilot is not causing problems in your neighborhood, I don't know. I'm not defending the actions of the pilot or saying it's OK to do acro over congested areas, I just think your action would be a little extreme, given the little bit of information you've shared. Do you really think anyone who lives on or near an airpark who is used to low-flying aircraft would really be shocked at this sight? Unless the pilot did something egregiously disrespectful, dangerous, and malicious, I think I'd have a polite conversation with him first, before reporting him to your local FSDO.

BTW, Most of the neighbors (if they saw it) probably thought it was cool. :)
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Sorry, blatantly breaking the FARs with low level (anything under 1500'agl) aerobatics for everyone to see, is inconsiderate to all other pilots. It makes us ALL look bad. Anyone that is doing this in the kind of area I described doesn't deserve a polite conversation from me, I'll allow the FAA to have that conversation. My concerns are almost completely selfish. I don't want to have to answer for the idiocy of others. In this case, I don't have enough for a complaint. Next time may be different. If we don't police our own stupidity, the general public may do it for us some day.
 
aparchment said:
Hmmm, guess I don't see why it would be significant if someone on the ground were acting like an idiot as well. Neither ground nor air idiocy that endangers others is excusable. If your point is that scrutiny and penalties should be equally applied regardless of whether the irresponsible act occurred in the air or on the ground, I guess I am in agreement with that statement. Someone driving recklessly should be held just as accountable as someone flying recklessly. . .
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Which is why I cringe at everyone posting here that this idiot should lose his license. If a driver of one of those jeeps on the beach had been caught recklessly driving the jeep and endangering others around him he would have been ticketed for reckless driving which would incur some amount of a fine but it would not mean his license would be taken. Yet everyone wants to instantly talk about pulling this guys license and prevent him from ever flying again.

I am sorry if this does not sound like the correct way to approach this guys act (did I mention I thought he was an idiot?) The truth is he pulled a bonehead stunt that has far reaching ramifications that far surpassed his ability to begin to think about in his euphoric state of mind he was in at the time. He should be punished but in the same manner as the jeep driver would be punished.

Here is a bit of perspective for comparison of this boneheaeded act. Just recently in our fair city (OKC, OK) a man decided he was perfectly capable of driving himself around in his vehicle even though he had just consumed large amounts of what he labeled as "Moon Shine". He proceeded to exit the Interstate at a high rate of speed onto a city street where several vehicles were stopped at a stop light. At the back of the pack of cars waiting on the light was a small car with a mother and two children (a 2 yo and a 5 yo) strapped in their secure car seats in the back seat. This IDIOT did not stop. He plowed into the back of this car at a high rate of speed. The 5 yo boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The 2 yo is still in the hospital in serious condition.

The IDIOT was arrested and taken to jail. He had past multiple arrests for DUI and at the time of the incident, was driving without a license due to the prior DUI's. A day or two later he was brought up in front of the judge. The judge released him from jail on bond (I don't know how much the bond was but this was not a wealthy man so I am sure it was not much). Just yesterday, after public outcry, the judge called the man back to court and subsequently revoked his bail and sent him back to jail.

My point of telling this is: Here we have a repeat DUI offender who had been caught multiple times and had been "punished according to the law" on several occasions but yet still had the opportunity to retain his right to drive a motor vehicle. It wasn't until he actually killed someone (and especially since it happened to be a 5 yo boy) that the public outcry was strong enough to get him off of the streets.

Given that, here we are, demanding this particular IDIOT have his licensed revoked and never be allowed to fly again. This is the inequality that I read in JDRhodes' post. Yes this IDIOT needs to be punished. However, the punishment should not be as severe as to prevent him from ever flying again. This reminds me of the two IDIOT Northwest pilots who tuned out to the world for an hour or so while flying to Minneapolis this past year. Everyone protested these pilots should never be allowed to fly again because of one boneheaded mistake.

The problem with this concept is that we all make bonehead mistakes that can, may and sometimes do have dire consequences. Should we all be subject to permanent removal of our privileges the very next time one of us succumbs to our own stupidity and makes one of these mistakes too?
 
It's respect!!!

I don't care where or when a 'pilot' purposely does something that can be dangerous while flying an aircraft, he/she doesn't respect his/her Pilot Certificate, the aircraft, and those people and the property below that will inevitably suffer the consequences of the crash.

Maybe that person (whomever) has forgotten how hard it was to get that Pilot Certificate. Or maybe they don't care - either way, in my opinion, they should be grounded forever as they have displayed extreme poor judgment. I don't give a **** who the pilot is, how well that pilot is respected, his/her reputation, number of hours, flew in Vietnam. Korea, WWII, that is stupid flying.

You don't have to be a pilot to identify unsafe flying and the FARS are there to try to give us guidelines which quantify safe flying and common sense. In my opinion, if it looks unsafe then it is unsafe and the last time I looked, maneuvering close to the ground can be unsafe - just think about the 'show pilots' that have died in the last few years. And these are the 'professionals'.

That kind of flying is 'stupid flying' and it hurts us all. Simple as that.
 
E. D. Eliot said:
. . . That kind of flying is 'stupid flying' and it hurts us all. Simple as that.
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I wholeheartedly agree with that! This guy was more than stupid. Suspend his license for a year, make him pay restitution with community service, after the year suspension make him take another 100 hours of flight training, then afterward strap him up to the MAKE HIM A SMART PILOT machine. He needs remediation through re-education to correct his bad behavior but he does not need the death penalty of a lifetime suspension from flight. Make him aware of the privilege he has been afforded and I would bet he will be the first one to tell everyone what an IDIOT he was.
 
I'm not going to get into the debate...I'm just surprised someone was hot dogging a DA-20! :rolleyes:
 
From a purely selfish standpoint, I would be in favor of the pilot getting a severe punishment - mabye not ticket pulled, but harsh and WELL-PUBLICIZED.

We (all pilots) are a TINY group compared to the general population. The general public likes to restrict or ban activities they don't participate in. Almost everyone drives a car. When horrible DUIs occur, you might see a push for stricter DUI laws - but you won't see a push to ban all private cars or driving. I think as pilots we have a greater risk of that happening.

It isn't fair but it's the way it is.
 
scard said:
Sorry, blatantly breaking the FARs with low level (anything under 1500'agl) aerobatics for everyone to see, is inconsiderate to all other pilots. It makes us ALL look bad. Anyone that is doing this in the kind of area I described doesn't deserve a polite conversation from me, I'll allow the FAA to have that conversation. My concerns are almost completely selfish. I don't want to have to answer for the idiocy of others. In this case, I don't have enough for a complaint. Next time may be different. If we don't police our own stupidity, the general public may do it for us some day.
Click to expand...

Note: This post does not apply to the DA-40 incident. Sorry thread drift..

Scott, if your only criteria is the violation of FAR's (you didn't mention safety or public outrage), you're headed down a real slippery slope. Think you have never violated an FAR? The public sure doesn't know the difference (their perception of what's safe and unsafe is often 180 degrees from reality).

I guess we disagree, but sorry, this does not pass the smell test for justifying an FAA report, especially from another pilot. Yes, he was in equal violation whether he was at 1400' or raising shingles 10' above someone's house, but I think a little common sense should apply. If you went to an RV fly-in, would you file a report on everyone who made a low pass and pull-up?

FAR 91.303 defines aerobatic flight as: an intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in an aircraft's attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration, not necessary for normal flight. Note that aerobatic flight is not demarcated by a specific pitch attitude or bank angle. (Aerobatic flight is often mistakenly thought to occur only when an aircraft exceeds 30 degrees of pitch or 60 degrees of bank relative to the horizon. This 30/60 rule, which appears under FAR 91.307 (c), merely specifies the conditions under which parachutes must be worn by the occupants of an aircraft.)

It looks like you will be very busy with calls to the FAA. And not that it matters if considering FAR's only, but an aileron roll is about the most benign maneuver (of any type) you can do in an RV...even a 9A. :eek:
 
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Jamie said:
I'm not going to get into the debate...I'm just surprised someone was hot dogging a DA-20! :rolleyes:
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Just mentioning it was a DA-40 since I fly a DA-20, and don't want to be lumped in the bucket with all those wild '40 drivers. :D (Although I will say...while it's no RV...the 20 is fun to fly. :))

As others have said, it wouldn't surprise me if the pilot knew someone from the gathering -- or at least, it sure would make a little more sense. (Well, "sense" may be a strong word, but the puzzle pieces would fit together.)
 
RVbySDI said:
The problem with this concept is that we all make bonehead mistakes that can, may and sometimes do have dire consequences. Should we all be subject to permanent removal of our privileges the very next time one of us succumbs to our own stupidity and makes one of these mistakes too?
Click to expand...

Oh please, let's not call this buzzing a bonehead mistake. This was a willful act.
 
This is just a case of poor decision making. If a student is found unable to consistently make good decisions his/her instructor is not in any way obligated to issue a pilot certificate. At the same time if a pilot is found to have a mental or physical defect that warrants it the FAA will revoke that pilots certificate. This pilot had quite a bit of time to think about his plans and still made a terrible decision. With such a lack of ability to understand the rules in place; put there in large part because of previous bad decision making by others, how could that pilot be expected to make a good decision when he/she is under pressure to act immediately? As a pilot I have to depend on other pilots to be able to differentiate between good and poor decisions every time I enter a traffic situation. I wouldn't want to fly in an area that I knew there was a person that viewed the FAR's in such a lackadaisical way.
 
sandifer said:
I guess we disagree, but sorry, this does not pass the smell test ...
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Eric, you're right that we disagree, not so much as to what the applicable regulations are, but more so what constitutes "a little common sense". This is precisely the topic of this thread. I just made it a little more RV related so we can look more inward to our own small community and not just point at the lack of common sense exhibited by the DA-40 pilot. If anyone thinks it is ok to do a roll at low level in an RV over a heavily populated area, just because it does it so well, I ask you to reconsider.
 
Wow Eric - if you do not believe this pilot should be reported to the FAA and the FAA shouldn't take action, then what action meets your criteria?

I'd be waiting on the ramp to have my say when this person returned for sure.

Yes - revocation is absolutely warranted (IMHO) as we hold pilots to a much higher standard than we do those who only drive. If we lower the standard to those of driving we will have tons more accidents. If we raise the standard of drivers to those of pilots the auto industry will cease to exist.

We've all probably busted the FARs - heck half of them we can't even agree on how to interpret them (see "GPS and IFR" thread :) ) but this was a willful act endangering a lot of people who were most likely unaware of what was about to happen. NOT OK. I don't think the crowd was too happy either as I thought I heard the kid suggest throwing a rock at him? :) I like that kid.
 
Criminal charges?

Could this guy face charges for reckless endangerment? I'm not advocating such, just curious. I don't know the legal history for such cases, but this seems to go beyond simple bad judgement.
 
Lycosaurus said:





Four videos of the event in question were posted on Youtube (click on the hyperlinked pictures to view). I just can't believe it:eek:
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:eek::eek:
obviously this joker didn't have any engine problems or control issues. Looks like he did this over a number of sections of the beach.
I'm all for having fun in my airplane but I have to actually question if this pilot is all there?:confused:
 
To characterize this act as a "mistake" is a huge stretch. Screw this guy and others like him. I'm sure that beach was full of children that would've been bodies had this stunt gone pear-shaped. I'm way too concerned for the honest, innocent victims of this sort of nonsense to give a rats behind about the RECKLESS ******* that caused it.

And regarding the suggestion that pilots should be held to no higher standard than drivers, all I can say is get out your Kevlar umbrellas 'cuz it's gonna be raining airplanes.
 
Rivethead said:
This is just a case of poor decision making.
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Yup, a SERIOUS case of poor decision making. If he would have stayed out over the water a bit he could have remained legal (assuming he maintained a distance of 500+feet from any boats and/or swimmers), had just as much fun and not endangered all of those people. Hard to imagine the Feds not pulling this guy's ticket, and maybe more...
 
szicree said:
To characterize this act as a "mistake" is a huge stretch.

...

And regarding the suggestion that pilots should be held to no higher standard than drivers, all I can say is get out your Kevlar umbrellas 'cuz it's gonna be raining airplanes.
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Well said.
 
szicree said:
And regarding the suggestion that pilots should be held to no higher standard than drivers, all I can say is get out your Kevlar umbrellas 'cuz it's gonna be raining airplanes.
Click to expand...

Well, I would say the opposite is true -- we need to hold drivers to the same standard as pilots. Driving a 3000lb box 70+mph 5 feet from another 3000lb vehicle is serious business.
 
scard said:
If anyone thinks it is ok to do a roll at low level in an RV over a heavily populated area, just because it does it so well, I ask you to reconsider.
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Never said that nor do I think this. You and Ken K are making perfectly reasonable points. All I'm saying is that if you are going to take such a stance against this person, why not all the other low-level antics that the FAA would define as "aerobatics" that occur all over the place, and especially when RV's flock together? Someone could fold a wing or stall/spin on one of those pull-ups and dump it into someone on the ground. There are countless scenarios that are technically just as illegal and more dangerous to those on the ground (if you really consider it) that I doubt you'd report, nor be nearly as conscious of and concerned about.

By the FAA's definition, low-level acro is rampant, it's just that someone not knowledgeable about aerobatics sees an airplane inverted and thinks that MUST be more dangerous and reckless. Willful, unnecessary, and more risky things are happening all around you, it's just not as "flashy" and obvious as the incident you witnessed. Legally, you would be in the right to report this guy. Just hoping for a little even-handedness. I do NOT condone the behavior you saw.
 
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You can rest assured that there is an office full of feds, wringing their hands, as they type in the "N" number in the registry data search engine. Can you say REVOCATION. That means ALL airman certificates DELETE, he'll be able to get a student pilot certificate in 6 months or so I bet though. He'll be hating life if he had an ATP. Uh, what the heck was this guy (or girl) thinking?
 
I know a guy who pulled one about this stupid--about thirty years ago. He flew a 172 under an interstate overpass AND didn't dent anything. He was busted (as he should have been.) His license was lifted for 10 years and he got a $50k fine! He never went back to flying (and somehow became a cop.) That fine would seem about right to me...

Bob KELLY
 
Eric - I 100% agree with you! I've seen RV's , F1's, Pitts, and my buddy in an F-14 do equally stupid things, even though I knew all of them were excellent well trained and skilled aviators. I just don't get it. There are perfectly legitimate outlets for all of those "fun" maneuvers if the pilots would invest the time and training to participate legally instead of what we call "flat hatting".

I think forums like these are excellent ways to discuss these issues and hopefully help all of us stay focused and smart. I appreciate this very much. Thanks!

Ken
 
it will be very ....

interesting to see the outcome on this. his wing tip was so close that it made me shiver. i have been involved in a few faa situations and a lot hinges on his attitude toward this mess. we as humans do make mistakes and hopefully learn from ower mistakes. if he has AOPA legal services he could draw this out for a while. he obviously got caught in the moment and pushed the limit too far. i believe the guillotine is being readied. we will see. my 2 cents.
 
So we should be treated differently?

To clarify, my point was that reckless behavior whether on the ground or in the air should be treated the same. I don't think the reckless behavior of a pilot should be any more contemptible than the reckless behavior of someone on the road. If some guy drives 120 down the interstate weaving in and out of other cars, to me that is as bad as this guy racing down a crowded beach at 100 feet and banking out at 60 degrees. Both should be punished in equal degrees. I disagree that flying is more dangerous to others than driving, nor do I think it warrants any special status that would warrant higher penalties for poor behavior. That kind of thinking -- that what we do is more dangerous to others, or should be treated differently, is what gives people the ammunition to argue for us losing our flying privileges or facilities.

What I didn't say was that I thought pilots should have as little training to fly a plane as drivers do to drive a car. I think that was the point you were trying to make about it raining airplanes.

szicree said:
To characterize this act as a "mistake" is a huge stretch. Screw this guy and others like him. I'm sure that beach was full of children that would've been bodies had this stunt gone pear-shaped. I'm way too concerned for the honest, innocent victims of this sort of nonsense to give a rats behind about the RECKLESS ******* that caused it.

And regarding the suggestion that pilots should be held to no higher standard than drivers, all I can say is get out your Kevlar umbrellas 'cuz it's gonna be raining airplanes.
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Check out what the Jeep group is saying about GA!

http://www.meetup.com/Houston-JeepPeople/messages/boards/thread/8766131/

Well, thanks to the absolute stupidity of the pilot of N134PS GA is already getting a bad rap. Go to this link and read what the Jeep club is saying about this guy. All the stereotypical public views. "Some rich guy with a plane...he's so rich he can afford the bail money...he damaged fishing equipment." What an idiot. I am all for the stiffest penalty the FAA can give him.
Now to keep the Jeep guys responsible too ;). One of the posts states that the Jeep party goer could not remember the the tail number because of all the beer he drank that day. Maybe we should report that to the local sheriff's department because he admitted to an open container in a motor vehicle as well as possibly drove the Jeep while under the influence:rolleyes:. Low flying planes or a bunch of drunk Jeep drivers. That beach sounds like a dangerous place to be.
 
aparchment said:
To clarify, my point was that reckless behavior whether on the ground or in the air should be treated the same. I don't think the reckless behavior of a pilot should be any more contemptible than the reckless behavior of someone on the road. If some guy drives 120 down the interstate weaving in and out of other cars, to me that is as bad as this guy racing down a crowded beach at 100 feet and banking out at 60 degrees. Both should be punished in equal degrees. I disagree that flying is more dangerous to others than driving, nor do I think it warrants any special status that would warrant higher penalties for poor behavior. That kind of thinking -- that what we do is more dangerous to others, or should be treated differently, is what gives people the ammunition to argue for us losing our flying privileges or facilities.

What I didn't say was that I thought pilots should have as little training to fly a plane as drivers do to drive a car. I think that was the point you were trying to make about it raining airplanes.
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Antony,
I agree with you - in principle. The difference is that the guy driving down the road at 120 MPH doesn't make national news but the airplane idiot does. IMHO, if we don't police ouselves, non-aviators (legislators) will, and we probably won't like that outcome...
 
Jeep Forum

AAron:
I looked thru five pages and didn't see anything about drunks. Doesn't matter. Did see the post about the guy claiming the plane clipped his fishing poles. Also saw a post where someone says their 5 year old is now afraid of airplanes. This idiot has done more damage (to aviation) than he can imagine. And here we are debating whether we should turn in the next miscreant that's just starting down this road. The FARs aren't onerous. Most of them are there as a result of something bad happening previously. I fly mostly for fun. I don't want to lose that privlege because some idiot thinks the rules aren't for them. Do I owe something to other pilots? Yes I do - to the thousands who follow the rules. When you see someone doing something that endangers life, call the FAA. At the very least, they'll start a file.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP
 
terrykohler said:
AAron:
I looked thru five pages and didn't see anything about drunks. Doesn't matter. Did see the post about the guy claiming the plane clipped his fishing poles. Also saw a post where someone says their 5 year old is now afraid of airplanes. This idiot has done more damage (to aviation) than he can imagine. And here we are debating whether we should turn in the next miscreant that's just starting down this road. The FARs aren't onerous. Most of them are there as a result of something bad happening previously. I fly mostly for fun. I don't want to lose that privlege because some idiot thinks the rules aren't for them. Do I owe something to other pilots? Yes I do - to the thousands who follow the rules. When you see someone doing something that endangers life, call the FAA. At the very least, they'll start a file.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP
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7th post down from the top. BTW, I whole-heartedly agree this pilot should be punished to the maximum extent allowable by the FAA. I just found it funny that here they concerned about someone breaking the rules of safe and legal flying and they are admitting to alcohol being present at a motor vehicle rally. Kind of hypocritical...that was the only reason I pointed it out.
 
Low Level Flak

Scott,

Wow, you sure are getting a lot of flak about your low-level aerobatics comments. Wonder what those same guys would think about the newly-minted RV8 pilot at Hicks who on one day can't keep his 8 on the runway with only a 20 degree crosswind and the next day he is witnessed doing a teardrop departure that puts him low-level (under 500 feet) 90 degrees to the runway where he executes a four point roll, sloppily, right over three rows of hangars. Who wants to be the first to say "I won't be upset if he loses it and crashes in to my hangar and destroys everything I own!"?
If I had personally witnessed this arrogant display of poor judgement, I wouldn't have hesitated to call Alliance FSDO.
Just my thoughts on this touchy subject!
 
interesting discussion...All valid points....

- we all agree the ******* should loose his license! Agreed?
- We all agree that flying recklesly sucks! (Recklesly = Violating the FAR's, your own trained skills and beyond the aircraft design purpose and certification) Agreed?
- We all agree that he made all of us look bad? Agreed?
- we all agree that everything has its place and moment? Agreed?

As for this idiot....the only violation I saw was flying low over people.....Nothing else!


Last time I read the FAR's I needed 500' AGL from any person,, building, obstruction....not 1000" which is your typically pattern altitude....two different things and misquoted somewhere by a confused person claiming to be a pilot.. (I think it was one of the newspaper commentaries)

Yes! you can do acrobatic manuvers below 1,500! That's why there is a waiver issued by the FAA to do so.....

As for airport behavior.....we are all at fault.....tell me different and I will call you a lier in your face!
 
It looks like you will be very busy with calls to the FAA. And not that it matters if considering FAR's only, but an aileron roll is about the most benign maneuver (of any type) you can do in an RV...even a 9A.
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If done correctly it is a benign maneuver. But even seasoned airshow pilots occassionally screw them up and auger in.

This type of behavior when it goes uncorrected will lead to more of the same or evn more egregious acts of careless and reckless operation and eventually someone gets hurt.

Over the last 40 years I have learned that "informal chats" with these idiots have absolutely no effect but a call to the FSDO does. Usually whatever action the FAA takes does have an effect and breaks the chain of continued bad and worsening behavior.

I am with Scott on this one, the guy he was talking about needs a visit from the fed, and if Scott didn't call them I would.
 
Mitch V.
Pitts S2B N324U Owner/Operator
RV8 Owner Wanna Be and Hopefully soon to be Builder/Owner.(If "prohibited term" allows me)
New Formation Flying Junkie thanks to Bill Crothers
FAA Cert A&P Tech and PPL
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Mitch until these recent impassioned posts I had never really read your signature. I read it today and noted it blatantly violated VAF's FAR's re: political statements. Being part of VAF's FSDO I have taken corrective action and removed the offending portion. You may wish to insert a new word where you used to have the "O" word or leave it as is.

Before you send me a nasty PM about being a liberal%^$%#%^# let me state my political views are far to the right of Atilla the Hun, I just corrected your seeemingly "benign" offense so that it would not escalate into more egregious political commentary.
 
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