FAA reviewing football fly-over

http://www.charlotte.com/ ^ | 11/4/07 | MARK PRICE

[Rb ver. 2.0]

A 17-year-old Hopewell High student was apparently acting on a dare when he did a fly-over prank at a Hopewell High football game Friday, at one point dipping below the stadium lights.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said Sunday that the teen pilot and two teen passengers flew the length of the field three times around 8 p.m. The plane reportedly came within feet of a flag pole.

On the final pass, a pair of tennis shoes and a football dropped from the single-engine Cessna 172 into the end zone, officials said.

The pilot, who apparently broke multiple federal aviation laws, is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, Huntersville police and CMS.

“My immediate reaction was that we were going to have a terrorist act of some sort,” said Vincent “Bud” Cesena, head of CMS law enforcement, who was among the 4,000 people in the stands.

“Then, as he circled, you saw that it was kids in the plane, and I was hoping it that it was just some kind of prank. I was thinking to myself: ‘Should I empty the stands and risk someone being trampled or see what happens?’ I knew for sure someone would get hurt if I emptied the stands.”

Witnesses say the plane came within 75 feet of an embankment at the field at the school on Beatties Ford Road in Huntersville.

The plane flew low enough that Cesena and several Huntersville police officers were able to take down the tail numbers and call them into Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

It was quickly identified as being rented from Lincoln County Regional Airport. That’s where Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies were waiting when it landed.

Detained at the airport for questioning were the 17-year-old pilot who had rented the plane and his passengers, another 17-year-old Hopewell student and an 18-year-old Hopewell graduate.

No charges had been filed as of late Sunday, officials said.

“It was a dare,” Cesena said. “They knew they were very much breaking the law. He’s a registered pilot and knows the consequences of this.” FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said that if it is proved that the pilot broke rules, his pilot’s license could be suspended or revoked.

The FAA requires an altitude of at least 1,000 feet when flying over a large group of people. Dropping the shoes and the football from the plane also may have been against FAA rules, Bergen said.

In addition, CMS officials are considering disciplinary action, said CMS spokeswoman Nora Carr.

If it can be proven that lives were endangered, those involved could face a minimum of a 10-day suspension and possible expulsion. “It’s a very serious thing, so I know a lot of folks are very, very concerned and are taking it seriously,” said Carr.

[gridlock]

"Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."

[Caramelgal]

Fortunately for all, the ill conceived prank didn’t end badly.

Buzzing a stadium is a very bad idea.

Baltimore – Memorial Stadium – Baltimore Colts vs the Pittsburg Steelers

One highly unusual incident was the crash of an airplane on the stadium premises. This occurred on December 19, 1976, just minutes after the conclusion of an NFL playoff game with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A small plane buzzed the stadium, and then crashed into the upper rows of the upper tier of seating. Fortunately for the spectators in that area, the Steelers had won the game handily (40-14), and most of the fans had already exited the stadium by the time the game ended. There were no serious injuries, and pilot Donald Kroner was arrested for violating plane safety regulations – Wikipedia.

My brother was at this game and had been sitting only one section away from where the plane crashed. My mother and I had watched the game on TV and then the news reports came on. Since this was BCP (before cell phones) we had no way of contacting my brother to see if he was OK. When my brother came home we were much relieved. He hadn’t heard about the crash but wasn’t all that surprised as this idiot had been buzzing the stadium for much of the fourth quarter.

A few years later some idiot in a private jet buzzed our neighborhood early one Sunday morning. It scared the Bejesus out of us. I was inside and heard this terrible roar and the house actually shook; dishes rattled and pictures nearly came off the wall. My mom and I dove to the floor. For a minute we thought WWIII had started and it was a Russian missile attack.

I went outside to see what was going on and he came back again and I saw him flying at ridiculous speed within a few yards of the roof tops.

The pilot was found and arrested and he lost his pilot’s license. He was some very wealthy guy who lived in N. Baltimore County horse country who had a private landing strip on his property and was going on a joy ride with his new “toy”.

[Samurai_Jack]

Recruit them for Top Gun!

[Caramelgal]

See my post 22. “Hey, he better have a ticket stub.” LOL!

[Squawk 8888]

I’m not sure about the NFL rules, but in Canada it would be a single point- field goals have to be kicked off the ground.

[Thrownatbirth]

If I recall, the stadium pinhead turned out to be a real whack job. He finally did prison after stealing a Greyhound bus and was caught trying to hide it in his mom’s backyard.

[19th LA Inf]

I checked the NTSB accident report board, and it shows that the pilot, flying a Piper PA-28 Cherokee, “attempted to land in the stadium after the game”, then failed to clear the end zone stands on an attempted go-around. I suppose this could go in the books as “failed field goal”.

[Squawk 8888]

I find it odd that you can rent a plane (as a minor) but you can't rent an car until you're 25

No mystery here because (1) the under-25 rule is set by the insurance companies, not the law and it's cheaper to insure an rental aircraft than to insure a rental car; and (2) renting to minors is a necessity for the flight schools because every student pilot has to rent the planes for the solo exercises.

[Squawk 8888]

I'm sure we weren't breaking any laws when we did those donuts in the middle of Athleton's field the week before our away game there.

You mean trespassing and intentionally damaging private property isn't against the law?

[Bernard]

Does that count as a field goal or a touch back?

A field goal has to cross through the goal posts, so this one is probably a touchback.

Based on the ages of the participants, it's also possibly the first story in a long line of "Hold my Red Bull and watch this" stories.

[Wil H]

The FAA will probably pull his license for busting minimums over an inhabited area.

[Gorzaloon]

"He WAS a registered pilot and knows the consequences of this.” "

[gridlock]

You mean trespassing and intentionally damaging private property isn't against the law?

Of course we were breaking the law. We were young and stupid and breaking the law. That is the whole point.

[6ppc]

A 17 year old can rent an airplane, to fly at night without an adult?

17 years old is the youngest you can get a pilot's license. I got mine when I was 18. I also got my multi-engine when I was 18. I could go rent anything I was qualified on at that point.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

the friend did a little of the “I bet you can’t”, “Yes, I can”, “No, you can’t” stuff.

IOW, just the sort of stuff that gets kids killed when a teenage driver has teenage passengers. That's why parents no longer are willing to allow their kids to have teenage passengers - so why was it allowed in an airplane?

[Enterprise]

Speaking of the Air Force. I was at the Fresno State v Utah State game on Saturday. During the national anthem two, yes two, B1B bombers flew together over the stadium. Low and slow. Loved it!

[sportutegrl]

“My immediate reaction was that we were going to have a terrorist act of some sort,” said Vincent “Bud” Cesena, head of CMS law enforcement, who was among the 4,000 people in the stands.

'Bud' Cesena, no relation to Cessna 172.

[The Duke]

Suspend the pilot from school ... ten send him to the astronaut program at NASA. :)

"Who's the best pilot I ever knew?..."

[Deguello]

Back in 1997, Neil Anderson (USAF Retired then) picked up one of his toys from Breckenridge, Tx and did two 50' off the deck passes of Hicks Airport (N Fort Worth) @ 400 mph in his F-86 Sabre.

He passed away a year ago.

[Squawk 8888]

Sorry, I should have realized the /sarcasm tag was implicit.

When I was a kid most of my stupid illegal pranks involved homemade explosives. I don’t even want to think of what the response would be like now...