FAA clips pilot’s wings

[Spiel]

FAA clips pilot's wings

June 24, 2010

Chris Paschenko / galvestondailynews.com

 

 

CRYSTAL BEACH (TEXAS) — The Federal Aviation Administration revoked for a year the license a pilot accused of buzzing beachgoers in March, a spokesman said Wednesday.

 

The FAA claims Joseph B. Kirbow flew a Diamond Aircraft DA40 so low it broke a fisherman's pole by snagging the line and wind from the plane twice knocked the hat from a man's head, according to a June 16 letter to Kirbow.

 

Kirbow had two passengers aboard the plane when it left Beaumont and buzzed Crystal Beach on March 13, the FAA said. The plane was registered to Kirbow Transportation Enterprises, according to FAA records.

 

"When you were asked by one of the passengers where you were going, you replied that you were going to buzz the beach," the revocation letter states.

 

Kirbow flew at altitudes as low as 15 feet above anglers wading in the surf and made multiple passes over a group of occupied vehicles and others on the beach, the letter states.

 

One witness, Terry Rodery, told The Daily News that the plane buzzed a group of Jeep enthusiasts.

 

"I think it's encouraging the FAA did the investigation and sided with general public and acknowledged the pilot endangered himself and innocent bystanders," Rodery said. "I thought a harsher punishment would have been better, but the FAA knows best."

 

During one pass, Kirbow banked and made a steep decent directly toward a man on the beach, the letter states.

 

"You flew so low over him that the wind from your aircraft blew his hat off on two different passes," the letter states, noting the man saw the pilot smiling and a passenger waiving.

 

"You flew so close to another individual on the beach that you broke his fishing pole when your aircraft snagged his fishing line," the letter states.

 

Kirbow is accused of telling a passenger he wouldn't be disciplined and had buzzed the beach many times.

 

After learning of complaints to the sheriff's office, Kirbow also is accused of phoning a passenger and telling her, "she was never on that plane," the letter states.

 

"When you next spoke with the passenger, you told her that she should go along with the story that the aircraft was experiencing engine trouble," the letter states.

 

"You laughed each time you made a low pass that caused people on the beach to duck in fear of being hit," the letter states.

 

The FAA accused Kirbow of actions that were reckless so as to endanger life and property, yet the agency considers the incident a federal civil matter, which it doesn't refer to law enforcement.

 

Kirbow has 10 days to appeal the revocation to the National Transportation Safety Board, Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the FAA, said.

 

Although there is no fine associated with the revocation, Kirbow could face civil penalties up to $1,100 a day for each day he fails to surrender the license, the letter state.

 

The Daily News was unable to reach Kirbow for comment, being unable to find a listed telephone number for him. No public listing for Kirbow Transportation Enterprises could be found.

 

"Losing your certificate for a year is a pretty serious consequence for any pilot that values the privilege," Lunsford said.

[Dave Bailey]

A time-worn axiom of aviation is "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are few old bold pilots."

[DRIFTER_016]

A friend of mine was put in a coma by someone buzzing him. He was riding his snowmobile and a buddy of his in a light plane buzzed him. One of the planes wheels hit him in the back of the head!!!!

Good thing he was wearing a helmet or he would most likely be dead.