When is a joke just a joke? A prank, a simple prank and nothing more?
Maybe when a 60 year old pilot decides to drum up enthusiasm for the big football game, with a practice run dropping toilet paper over the field, prepping for streamers on game day. Yes, messy. And you may convince me of littering. But arresting the Cessna 172 S pilot under charges of “violating state aviation codes” is preposterous. If such codes exist, I couldn’t find them. And even if you stretch the existing aviation codes to the utmost, it would be a tough sell. Not that local authorities won’t try.
Have we completely lost our sense of humor?
I understood the community uproar about the air traffic control Dad who took his kid to work day and let the boy make radio calls. Lack of judgment, safety risk, public harm, were all pointing accusing fingers of all the what ifs that could have happened, but didn’t. (I don’t necessarily agree, but understand the concern.)
But now this?
Are government officials really going to prosecute a pilot over a funny – admit it – funny escapade? Apparently we are. 9/11 has changed the world we live in, and especially the skies we fly in. And perhaps if this prank were somewhere other than neighboring the forever raw New York skyline, things would be different.
The Federal Aviation Administration said they would continue to investigate whether to press federal charges for reckless operation of an aircraft and dropping objects from a plane without proper authorization, said Jim Peters, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. I’m hopeful that once the dust settles, and the hysteria peters out, a calm, FAA investigation will confirm this event for what it was: a prank and drop any further prosecution
Consider this:
1. No rules were broken. Dropping items from aircraft is not prohibited by the FARs. If he was complying with 91.119, 1000′ over a congested area, than he should be good per the FARs.
2. It is legal to drop objects from aircraft as long as care is taken to ensure that there is no damage to persons or property on the surface.
3. As for violating “a law that prohibits low-flying stunts over densely inhabited areas or public gatherings,” I think not. In fact, if similar laws are in effect, I couldn’t find them. And the one claimed to have been violated here simply does not exist.
While I pine for a world where toilet paper falling from the sky wasn’t scary, only funny, I can’t deny the fact that it is frightening to some. I can only hope the calmer, objective FAA will be able to soothe people’s concern and not overreact to a good joke, in our post 9/11 world.
Effective June 30, 2010, air traffic controllers will no longer use the term “taxi to” when authorizing aircraft to taxi to an assigned takeoff runway. With the change, controllers must issue explicit clearances to pilots crossing any runway (active/inactive or closed) along the taxi route. In addition, pilots crossing multiple runways must be past the first runway they are cleared to cross before controllers can issue the next runway-crossing clearance. One exception to the new rule is at airports where taxi routes between runway centerlines are fewer than 1,000 feet apart. In this case, multiple runway crossings may be issued if approved by the FAA Terminal Services Director of Operations.
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