Birdstrike
Atlantic City
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2002
- Posts
- 13,334
...and in the "change of underware" department today, we have this story about a poor 78 year old man taking his 58 year old plane out for a spin...
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Florida Today October 24, 2004
F-16s Chase Plane From Rally
By Scott Blake, Florida Today
VIERA -- Military fighters intercepted a pilot who mistakenly flew his vintage, single-engine plane over Space Coast Stadium during President Bush's rally Saturday, authorities said.
The 73-year-old pilot, Robert A. Hargrave of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., flew his 1946 Aeronca into a no-fly zone set up around the stadium for the president's visit, Brevard County Sheriff spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.
Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted Hargrave's plane as he was flying south from Georgia to Boca Raton along Interstate 95 east of the stadium. One of the fighter jets fired flares in front of Hargrave's plane to warn him out of the area. But Hargrave turned west and flew directly over the packed stadium as the president spoke, Martinez said.
"They told him to make a U-turn and, instead of going left (away from the stadium), he went right," she said.
A Brevard County Sheriff's helicopter responded to the emergency and made radio contact with Hargrave to alert him to the situation, but he ended up passing about 1,200 feet to 1,500 feet over the stadium, said Lt. John Coppola, the pilot of the Sheriff's helicopter.
"He came very close to getting shot down," Coppola said.
The roar of the jets drowned out of part of Bush's speech, but the president seemed unfazed by the interruption.
The crowd of about 14,000 focused on the commotion in the sky. An F-16 zoomed past the 65-horsepower plane, which authorities said has a maximum speed of 70 mph.
Some people in the stands cheered in jest for the jet to shoot down the plane.
State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, who was standing on the rally stage near Secret Service agents, said the agents moved closer to the president during the incident.
"It got me a little nervous -- I have to admit it," Haridopolos said.
Authorities ordered Hargrave to head north to Merritt Island Airport. Once he landed, Hargrave was detained and questioned by the Secret Service. He was released about two hours later.
Martinez said the case was turned over the Federal Aviation Administration, which could fine Hargrave, suspend his pilot's license or order him to undergo training.
"I'm sure I'll be hearing from some others, including the FAA," Hargrove said after authorities released him.
The White House issued a statement saying the president was never in danger. A similar incident took place earlier in the day in Lakeland.
People in and around stadium wondered what was happening.
Roy Carter of Melbourne, a military veteran, said, "I thought they did a correct job by chasing it out of the area. It indicates they were on the ball."
Chris Camp said he was playing tennis in the Sonoma neighborhood just north of the stadium when he heard the roar of a fighter jet. Startled, he looked skyward.
"It fired three red flares out. As soon as they shot out, it got bright orange and then they dropped right down all the way to the ground," Camp said.
"We thought he had come so close behind the plane that he was actually going to drop the plane."
Staff writers Kate Brennan, John McCarthy, Craig Bailey and Rick Neale contributed to this story.
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Florida Today October 24, 2004
F-16s Chase Plane From Rally
By Scott Blake, Florida Today
VIERA -- Military fighters intercepted a pilot who mistakenly flew his vintage, single-engine plane over Space Coast Stadium during President Bush's rally Saturday, authorities said.
The 73-year-old pilot, Robert A. Hargrave of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., flew his 1946 Aeronca into a no-fly zone set up around the stadium for the president's visit, Brevard County Sheriff spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.
Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted Hargrave's plane as he was flying south from Georgia to Boca Raton along Interstate 95 east of the stadium. One of the fighter jets fired flares in front of Hargrave's plane to warn him out of the area. But Hargrave turned west and flew directly over the packed stadium as the president spoke, Martinez said.
"They told him to make a U-turn and, instead of going left (away from the stadium), he went right," she said.
A Brevard County Sheriff's helicopter responded to the emergency and made radio contact with Hargrave to alert him to the situation, but he ended up passing about 1,200 feet to 1,500 feet over the stadium, said Lt. John Coppola, the pilot of the Sheriff's helicopter.
"He came very close to getting shot down," Coppola said.
The roar of the jets drowned out of part of Bush's speech, but the president seemed unfazed by the interruption.
The crowd of about 14,000 focused on the commotion in the sky. An F-16 zoomed past the 65-horsepower plane, which authorities said has a maximum speed of 70 mph.
Some people in the stands cheered in jest for the jet to shoot down the plane.
State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, who was standing on the rally stage near Secret Service agents, said the agents moved closer to the president during the incident.
"It got me a little nervous -- I have to admit it," Haridopolos said.
Authorities ordered Hargrave to head north to Merritt Island Airport. Once he landed, Hargrave was detained and questioned by the Secret Service. He was released about two hours later.
Martinez said the case was turned over the Federal Aviation Administration, which could fine Hargrave, suspend his pilot's license or order him to undergo training.
"I'm sure I'll be hearing from some others, including the FAA," Hargrove said after authorities released him.
The White House issued a statement saying the president was never in danger. A similar incident took place earlier in the day in Lakeland.
People in and around stadium wondered what was happening.
Roy Carter of Melbourne, a military veteran, said, "I thought they did a correct job by chasing it out of the area. It indicates they were on the ball."
Chris Camp said he was playing tennis in the Sonoma neighborhood just north of the stadium when he heard the roar of a fighter jet. Startled, he looked skyward.
"It fired three red flares out. As soon as they shot out, it got bright orange and then they dropped right down all the way to the ground," Camp said.
"We thought he had come so close behind the plane that he was actually going to drop the plane."
Staff writers Kate Brennan, John McCarthy, Craig Bailey and Rick Neale contributed to this story.
