Four A-10 pilots grounded for low pass over Panthers stadium

[MikeD]

From a few days ago. An impromptu flyover of the stadium by jets from the 74th Fighter Squadron at Moody.

Flyovers. At games or especially impromptu, these days, nothing is gained from them. At best, you break even. At best.

Story/video here:

http://www.wcnc.com/sports/nfl/panthers/military-flyover-in-uptown-was-practice/310579810

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An investigation is underway to learn why four Air Force fighter jets buzzed Bank of America Stadium Monday.

The four A-10 Thunderbolts circled the stadium flying at a very low altitude.

The pass was approved, the FAA says, by Charlotte air traffic control as the planes were leaving Charlotte for their home base, Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia.

At one point, the jets startled workers in the Duke Energy tower, passing level with some of their office windows located about three-quarters of the way up to the top-- some 780 feet above the street.

The FAA said part of the investigation will include determining at what altitude the jets were flying.

The A-10s also passed over the practice field where the Panthers were working out.

Coach Ron Rivera said it caught everyone off guard but he still thought it was “awesome".

“I liked the fact that they waved at us as they went over,” Rivera said.

Initially, a spokesperson for Charlotte-Douglas International said the flyover was a rehearsal for a ball game.

The FAA in a statement now says that was wrong and it was an FAA employee’s fault.

The statement reads, “An FAA employee incorrectly told an official at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport that the flight was a practice flyover for a football game.”

“As professional Airmen we take aviation safety very seriously,” said Col. Thomas Kunkel, 23d Wing commander. “As we look into the circumstances of this incident we are working with the FAA to ensure both civil and military aviation instructions were complied with.”

The Air Force says the pilots involved have been restricted from flight duties pending the results of the investigation.

The best are some of the online comments about the flyover though....as seen here:

"Whatever it is they're preparing for, it's a secret. You won't get any truth out of Obama or the government. This is unprecedented in American history, so we know they are getting ready for some kind of event. We have several possibilities and some get pretty exotic. Wormwood/Nibiru catastrophes and/or space alien hybrid invasion would obviously be on the exotic end of the scale. Economic collapse, WWIII, Red Dawn, Chinese Red Dawn, race war, civil war, second American revolution, and so forth would be your less exotic reasons"

"I work in Tucson az and there's constantly air force jets flying overhead all day every day. if there ever was a place conditioned for martial law it would be Tucson and surrounding area. sierra vista has a base, Tucson has a base, I see military activity all the time, border patrol checkpoints inside the us , tons of highway patrol, sheriffs, police, federal police etc. this place is screwed when it goes down. and everyone just acts like its all normal to have all this police and military presence"

"MORE "VISUAL INTIMIDATION" BY THE GOVERNMENT - TO COWER THE PUBLIC INTO SUBMISSION & OBEDIENCE. Keep in mind, these A-10's are NOT "Blue Angels" stunt planes - they are GROUND ATTACK killing machines. They were designed to attack TROOP CONCENTRATIONS (rioters?) and HOSTILE VEHICLES (mom in her mini-van?). THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR - "WE ARE PATROLLING YOUR SKIES - THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN HIDE - WE CAN KILL YOU."

"Exactly. These are not "show planes." Something is going on and what that is gives people that "bad feeling." People don't get that "bad feeling" for no reason. It's built into us by our Creator - not to be ignored. The Pope was elected the head of NATO last year and we are soon to be bound by their rules under the new regime and monetary power house of China, hence the need for a joining of forces so to speak."

"i've noticed a slight uptick of military activity in my area as well, we're gonna have more "oh we arent sure why it happened" if people question it, more "its just standard training dont worry about it" and "they're just tranferring the equipment to other bases". they gotta start stretching their legs if they're gonna roll out martial law by mid october. not to mention the two sets of 3 weeks of training the bases are doing starting early September."

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

If only they turned on the chem trails during the fly by! Then watch the comments blow up.

 

[tcco94]

Where is CNN with their expert analysis? My favorite is when they use "experts" with 0 hours in the field they're talking about.

 

[NovemberEcho]

Jesus those comments. Why can't it hurt the commentator as much as reading them hurts my head?

 

[killbilly]

Jesus those comments. Why can't it hurt the commentator as much as reading them hurts my head?

Because everyone is the hero of their own story. It is far more interesting and attractive to find a narrative that fits your hope for where you fit in the world, than it is to consider the alternative.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[obx]

Maybe not the best decision by the pilots, but the comments are ridiculous. Maybe we're desensitized because we're around aviation and love seeing things like what happened here, but when I see military fast jets flying low I feel proud. I'm as liberal as they come, but I don't fear our government. Any opportunity that I get to see the men and women of our military using the awesome tools of our diplomacy is neat.

I'm not saying we need to parade tanks down the Mall in DC like the Russians did in the Red Square circa the Cold War, but these people that were "scared" in their offices are pansies.

 

[jtrain609]

I'm pretty sure there are people who are on this forum that with slightly different facts completely agree with the sentiments expressed in these comments.

Mostly about how the government is coming to take all their guns.

 

[bimmerphile]

The Pope was elected head of NATO

Que?

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[jtrain609]

The Pope was elected head of NATO

Que?

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Yup, and bears poop in the woods, also.

 

[NovemberEcho]

The Pope was elected head of NATO

Que?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

And he's going to use the UN army to take away your birth control

 

[Hacker15e]

I'm more interested to hear how it is going to work out for these pilots.

I have some, shall we say, personal experience with this type of event. In 2010, a formation of jets from my squadron performed what turned out to be a too-low altitude flyby of an NCAA football game.

USAF rules for flyovers say they have to be at a maximum of 300 knots and a minimum of 1000' over the stadium. As you can see from the video, these T-38s didn't quite that 1000' minimum. I believe the official investigation found they cleared the scoreboard by 58 feet, which was an overall altitude of somewhere around 200 feet. The FAA tapes showed they were doing something in the neighborhood of 400 knots when they crossed the stadium, too.

So, here's how it worked out for these pilots:

USAF leadership found that the four pilots in the formation had intentionally violated flight rules and recklessly operated their aircraft. Initially they tried to court-martial the flight leader, but he was all ready scheduled to separate from the Air Force so he negotiated an extremely stiff administrative punishment and turned in his military wings rather than face losing them in an additional court proceeding called a Flying Evaluation Board.

The three other pilots in the formation received what is essentially career-stunting (or ending) administrative punishment, as well as losing their qualifications as instructor pilots and having the AF-equivalent of a busted checkride "for cause" in their flying records.

Two pilots, who were the non-flying "safety observers" there in the stadium also received administrative punishment and lost their instructor qualifications because they neither waved-off the low pass, nor called back to report the somewhat flagrant violation to USAF leadership after it happened.

I don't know any of the particulars in the Charlotte A-10 situation, but I predict the AF will try its best to nail those pilots to the wall, even if there are innocent circumstances leading to the flyby.

 

[jtrain609]

I'm more interested to hear how it is going to work out for these pilots.

I have some, shall we say, personal experience with this type of event. In 2010, a formation of jets from my squadron performed what turned out to be a too-low altitude flyby of an NCAA football game.

USAF rules for flyovers say they have to be at a maximum of 300 knots and a minimum of 1000' over the stadium. As you can see from the video, these T-38s didn't quite that 1000' minimum. I believe the official investigation found they cleared the scoreboard by 58 feet, which was an overall altitude of somewhere around 200 feet. The FAA tapes showed they were doing something in the neighborhood of 400 knots when they crossed the stadium, too.

So, here's how it worked out for these pilots:

USAF leadership found that the four pilots in the formation had intentionally violated flight rules and recklessly operated their aircraft. Initially they tried to court-martial the flight leader, but he was all ready scheduled to separate from the Air Force so he negotiated an extremely stiff administrative punishment and turned in his military wings rather than face losing them in an additional court proceeding called a Flying Evaluation Board.

The three other pilots in the formation received what is essentially career-stunting (or ending) administrative punishment, as well as losing their qualifications as instructor pilots and having the AF-equivalent of a busted checkride "for cause" in their flying records.

Two pilots, who were the non-flying "safety observers" there in the stadium also received administrative punishment and lost their instructor qualifications because they neither waved-off the low pass, nor called back to report the somewhat flagrant violation to USAF leadership after it happened.

I don't know any of the particulars in the Charlotte A-10 situation, but I predict the AF will try its best to nail those pilots to the wall, even if there are innocent circumstances leading to the flyby.

LeMay would have promoted the lot of them.

 

[JordanD]

Maybe not the best decision by the pilots, but the comments are ridiculous. Maybe we're desensitized because we're around aviation and love seeing things like what happened here, but when I see military fast jets flying low I feel proud. I'm as liberal as they come, but I don't fear our government. Any opportunity that I get to see the men and women of our military using the awesome tools of our diplomacy is neat.

I'm not saying we need to parade tanks down the Mall in DC like the Russians did in the Red Square circa the Cold War, but these people that were "scared" in their offices are pansies.

Eh, I love seeing that stuff too, but rules are rules. Otherwise you end up with another Bud Holland or airshow disaster like the one in Ukraine that killed a whole bunch of people.

The Pope was elected head of NATO

Que?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I guess Pope stuff only takes up a couple hours in the morning, he needed something else to do.

 

[mshunter]

Yup, and bears poop in the woods, also.

Your comment is confusing. Bears to poop in the woods, and the Pope, as far as I can find, doesn't hold any elected positions in NATO.

 

[Finny]

I'm more interested to hear how it is going to work out for these pilots.

I have some, shall we say, personal experience with this type of event. In 2010, a formation of jets from my squadron performed what turned out to be a too-low altitude flyby of an NCAA football game.

USAF rules for flyovers say they have to be at a maximum of 300 knots and a minimum of 1000' over the stadium. As you can see from the video, these T-38s didn't quite that 1000' minimum. I believe the official investigation found they cleared the scoreboard by 58 feet, which was an overall altitude of somewhere around 200 feet. The FAA tapes showed they were doing something in the neighborhood of 400 knots when they crossed the stadium, too.

So, here's how it worked out for these pilots:

USAF leadership found that the four pilots in the formation had intentionally violated flight rules and recklessly operated their aircraft. Initially they tried to court-martial the flight leader, but he was all ready scheduled to separate from the Air Force so he negotiated an extremely stiff administrative punishment and turned in his military wings rather than face losing them in an additional court proceeding called a Flying Evaluation Board.

The three other pilots in the formation received what is essentially career-stunting (or ending) administrative punishment, as well as losing their qualifications as instructor pilots and having the AF-equivalent of a busted checkride "for cause" in their flying records.

Two pilots, who were the non-flying "safety observers" there in the stadium also received administrative punishment and lost their instructor qualifications because they neither waved-off the low pass, nor called back to report the somewhat flagrant violation to USAF leadership after it happened.

I don't know any of the particulars in the Charlotte A-10 situation, but I predict the AF will try its best to nail those pilots to the wall, even if there are innocent circumstances leading to the flyby.

To be fair, that's Iowa. I'd also be trying to leave there as fast as freaking possible as well!

 

[Burrito]

Where is CNN with their expert analysis? My favorite is when they use "experts" with 0 hours in the field they're talking about.

DID YOU KNOW a 777 struggles to stay airborne when it runs out of fuel!?!?1!1!¿!!!!1!!one111!?!

 

[fholbert]

Looked like a non-standard holding pattern to me.

Even non aviators are thrilled to see the dance-like formations of the sleek Air Force jets doing a low pass... Never mind, they were A-10's.

 

[Kingairer]

I was downtown and it surprised the hell out of me. Kids loved it!

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

In the age of social media everything you do is recorded. In an airplane doubly so. This has changed many aspects of life. Including the local mountain biking... I must say I do see a lot of "strange" stuff here, I live near a National Park. Not so much military fighting vehicles but some really strange G plate vehicles with antenna mounted on them that I am still struggling to ID. There is a big government ship to shore instillation and the only way out there is to drive by my house. Also there is a lot going on with access to the park and trails that indicate to me we have entered new territory when it comes to Civil Rights.

Specifically surveillance cameras used on the trails to not just monitor animals but humans as well. Park officials have indicated that some of these cameras are operated by LEOs. They use an SMS system to transmit the photo of you in real time, right to the rangers smart phone. Grows are not a huge concern but are present. Still I try and work with NPS on trail access issues and trail maintenance issues and they are the worst organization in terms of transparency. It certainly does not make me feel warm and fuzzy about the government.

But yeah if I saw A-10s lining up for a ground attack on my house I'd be stoked beyond belief. What an awesome day that would be. I see some of the Travis AFB arrivals and departures. Some cool Beale AFB traffic, mostly just T-38s. They are always way too high up. FLY LOWER!!!

I'd be really surprised if our government would go at length just to get rid of a pesky mountain biker I can't really imagine the mindset of someone who would actually consider this to be a practice run of some sort for actually causing real harm. The Stingray units that can monitor your cell phone in the back of a police vehicle or light aircraft. Yeah not cool and a big concern. Military vehicles like an A-10 being used to harm people in the US, complete fantasy

 

[hook_dupin]

Eh, I love seeing that stuff too, but rules are rules. Otherwise you end up with another Bud Holland or airshow disaster like the one in Ukraine that killed a whole bunch of people

Heck... it happened in 2010 in Alaska in a C-17.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Alaska_C-17_crash

At least within the Blue Universe, let the demo teams be demo teams.