Prank or Practice?

article said:
was charged with violating a state aviation statute that prohibits low-flying acrobatic stunts over thickly inhabited areas or public gatherings.
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He was doing "acrobatic stunts" while throwing TP out the window? Man he's good.

But seriously, me thinks he just forgot to call and get permission for the practice runs. Can't really see the hazard in dropping 4 rolls of TP. Heck, it's even biodegradable.
 
...an airplane toilet paper-drop stunt that stirred up post-9/11 anxieties about low-flying planes, authorities said.
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This made me
facepalm.gif
 
I think the thing that will really set off the FAA will be the presence of the children below, as that will probably constitute an "open-air assembly of persons." We've done a lot of paper bag/flour bomb drops at AYA conventions, but we always get permission from the target area property owner (normally the airport manager), secure the drop zone, don't let anyone not part of the spotting team near the drop zone, and police up when we're done.
 
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I think he has more to worry about from the FAA that the state violation.

"Regino said. Saunders surrendered to police late Thursday morning, and was charged with violating a state aviation statute that prohibits low-flying acrobatic stunts over thickly inhabited areas or public gatherings."

Never knew tossing TP was acro sheesh!
 
AdamZ said:
"Regino said. Saunders surrendered to police late Thursday morning, and was charged with violating a state aviation statute that prohibits low-flying acrobatic stunts over thickly inhabited areas or public gatherings."
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"Thickly inhabited"?

Oh yeah -- it's Jersey. The whole thing is thick with inhabitants. :rolleyes2:
 
Pi1otguy said:
He was doing "acrobatic stunts" while throwing TP out the window? Man he's good.

But seriously, me thinks he just forgot to call and get permission for the practice runs. Can't really see the hazard in dropping 4 rolls of TP. Heck, it's even biodegradable.
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Since when is "flying in circles" at 1000 AGL an "acrobatic stunt"? Unless the the falling TP presented a hazare to persons or property I can't see that this pilot violated any FARs given the story so far. I could see the city and/or school making him responsible for picking up the mess though.
Sec. 91.15 Dropping objects. No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.
 
"Especially with small planes and all the talk of terrorists going from larger planes to smaller planes..."

"All the talk", indeed. Where are these Cessna-flying terrorists, or even any evidence of a real plot to use light aircraft?

If someone drove a truck onto the field at the same time and started tossing TP out the window, they might have been upset that it was disturbing the activities and damaging the turf, but nobody would think "terrorist".

Because everybody knows "they" don't use trucks, right? :rolleyes2:
 
rottydaddy said:
... or even any evidence of a real plot to use light aircraft?...
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/730604/posts
... Moussaoui e-mailed the university's Crookston, Minn., campus on July 31, 2001, seeking information on a "short course you offer to become a crop duster (6 month, 1 years max.)" ...​
The 9/11 guys seem to have had a plan to use a crop duster at some point, but they abandoned the plan and shifted to a new one...
-harry
 
dmccormack said:
"Thickly inhabited"?

Oh yeah -- it's Jersey. The whole thing is thick with inhabitants. :rolleyes2:
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Pumping gas is considered skilled labor in Jersey. Thickly inhabited indeed.

I think that people like to make non-events into something more so that they feel a sense of importance and a connection to the news they read and watch. There are some people who just want to be in the middle of it, whatever it may be, and they end up creating these pathetic little dramas for their own enjoyment.
 
Typical government reaction to anything that will give them something to do. HASMAT teams, fire departments, police, counseling for the children etc. etc.

Last week in San Diego, a kid brought a small vial of mercury to school to show it to his friends. I remember playing with the stuff in my hand, in a school classroom, when I was a kid.

The government reaction was unbelievable. HASMAT (What the heck is HASMAT anyway?) teams were called in to three schools after locking all three down. Apparently the bus the kid rode to school, also had kids going to other schools as well. Police, sheriffs, poison control, fire departments, counselors calling parents, the bus itself had to go through decontamination and the list goes on and on.

That one innocent little incident gave close to a thousand government employees a way to pass the time. A way to get through another, long, long, day.

Welcome to the new, changed, America.

John
 
mantakos said:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/730604/posts
... Moussaoui e-mailed the university's Crookston, Minn., campus on July 31, 2001, seeking information on a "short course you offer to become a crop duster (6 month, 1 years max.)" ...
​
The 9/11 guys seem to have had a plan to use a crop duster at some point, but they abandoned the plan and shifted to a new one...
-harry
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Yea, one that would work. Unlike other attacks using light aircraft.

Which suggests that the average terrorist has more sense than the average TV news person...
 
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mantakos said:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/730604/posts
... Moussaoui e-mailed the university's Crookston, Minn., campus on July 31, 2001, seeking information on a "short course you offer to become a crop duster (6 month, 1 years max.)" ...​
The 9/11 guys seem to have had a plan to use a crop duster at some point, but they abandoned the plan and shifted to a new one...
-harry
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I forgot that one. Hardly a suitable precedent for the paranoia spawned by the (much more effective) alternate plan, however.

Reminds me of how the heavies were back in action much sooner after 9/11/01 than the rest of us... another thing that doesn't make sense... except for the fact that it's easier to bully us than the airlines.

I guess it's not really about public safety or national security, in the end... it's about political posturing; appearing to "do something". Find a scapegoat, make people afraid of it (despite all logic and historical evidence), then "protect" them from it. :rolleyes2:
 
Hah! Yea, the lighter the plane, the scarier they get! We might have a leg up in the 162, no fat terrorists allowed and the bombs will have to be pretty light....but according to the news, toilet paper is just as lethal.
 
mantakos said:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/730604/posts
... Moussaoui e-mailed the university's Crookston, Minn., campus on July 31, 2001, seeking information on a "short course you offer to become a crop duster (6 month, 1 years max.)" ...​
The 9/11 guys seem to have had a plan to use a crop duster at some point, but they abandoned the plan and shifted to a new one...
-harry
Click to expand...

They were thinking of spraying toxic chemicals over a city. There was some story from a co-worker who talked to one of them about that.
 
Tristar said:
Hah! Yea, the lighter the plane, the scarier they get! We might have a leg up in the 162, no fat terrorists allowed and the bombs will have to be pretty light....but according to the news, toilet paper is just as lethal.
Click to expand...
You mean there are more practical ways of deploying nbc weapons other besides tp? For all they knew it could have been a specially crafted roll designed disperse anthrax on the way down. :rolleyes:
 
I got to fly a similar maneuver to this yesterday! The winds kept changing directions as we increased in altitude while flying skydivers. They weren't sure which way was the best for jumping (N,S,E,W). So one of the guys cut out a huge piece of yellow streamer and rolled it up. I asked what that was for. It was one of the most technically advanced piece of equipment we had; a "drift indicator." We took off with a load of skydivers and this rolled up streamer. At 2,000 AGL, popped open the door and dropped it. My job was to fly turns around a point with a moving and descending target! I finally found a way to make turns around a point fun and use it for more than "taking pictures!" After it unraveled, it was easy to fly around. Concluding our moment of being easily entertained at our version of toilet paper bombing, we climbed up and flew south-east across the airport (according to the toilet paper drift indicator). The guys jumped and made it easily to the airport without having to second guess their glide. It's nice knowing whether you'll end up in the trees or not due to unknown winds at different altitudes.

So just remember, the best instruments are sometimes the least complicated...paper wind streamers and can't forget yaw strings!
 
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