What happens when...

MikeOH58

MikeOH58

Well-Known Member
What happens when someone calls your local tower and files a complaint about your flying?

Today I took up my grumman to take some photo's of my lake house, which happens to be located 4.9 DME from my airport (Class Delta). I advise the tower i'd like to take photo's, give him my exact location, and tell him my lowest altitude will be 800 AGL. He tells me no problem, and I monitor the tower com throughout the time period I was loitering over my house.

Anyways, I land and get a phone call from the owner of the airplane calling up and saying someone called up the tower and reported me for flying at 200-300 feet. Complete •. Anyways, the owner told me it wasn't a big deal, and that he would take care of it. Apparantly the guy who called up and gave this fake, or just moronic report on me is a pilot at my airport, and is known to be a dlck.

so to questions. One- How does this whole thing work? Should I be worried at all? (I typed up a detailed log of the flight on microsoft word, immediately after getting the call from the owner).

two- Do I confont this guy when I find out who he is?

I can just see this guy on the ground completely freaking out, and manifesting something that didn't happen. I really want to approach him as a professional and explain to him my altitudes, and my okay's from the tower. Furthermore, i'd like to ask him if he does this type of thing alot? And finally, i'd like to ask him how compitent he is as a pilot, because 200-300 feet (tree tops), is a lot different than 800-1,000
 
Personally, I think that if you conducted a flight at 200’-300’ AGL in class D airspace you would more likely (Hopefully) hear about it during the flight, and not when you returned, assuming the tower staff were not all sleeping.

Until I received some type of call or notification from the FSDO I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep.

As for confronting the guy, I would think that it, at best, serves no purpose, or would only make matters worse.

Just my .02
 
Some "pilot" called about me once, said I was buzzing his house at 200 feet.

The flight school director called me in and wanted me to give my side of the story. I was doing ground ref at about 1000 AGL.

The best part is I had my GPS tracks to prove my altitude, so I showed that to the director and he called the guy right there and told him that I had a GPS track proving my altitude.

He full on told the guy "Please don't bother us with innacurate reports, we teach our students to fly right and it is a total waste of my time."

Unless they can prove something, which he can't, I would just leave it be.
 
You were the one looking at the Altimeter. I doubt he had any sort of altitude measuring equipment so I wouldn't worry about it. In fact I might make it a point to fly over his place a little more frequently.
 
From what i'm told, this guy is a private pilot arm chair general who makes calls like this quit frequently. I know what altitude I was at. The tower knew exactly where I would be operating, and the lowest altitude I was at, and I was in full radio contact during the entire time period. So yea, i'm not worried, and your right....Nothing would get accomplished my confronting him.

I guess this is just more of a "what a POS" rant. hehe
 
I'd confront him. I've confronted quite a few folks on my old airport, and it always seemed to do the trick. Many of these punks are tough-talking on the radio, but once you step to them on the ramp, they back down.

Fill out a NASA report with the details, and then confront the idiot.
 
People on the ground (especially non-pilots) are horrible at judging height. People complain all the time around my airport about planes flying 50 feet above their house. These are from houses under midfield downwind, btw...
 
Maybe you should show him what 200-300 feet looks like :yar:

but seriously I would just go talk to him and tell him your story, dont go in there to "confront" anyone or that will end badly. You were in the right and just tell him that.
 
There was (maybe still is) a guy who lived just under the final for 12 at Stuart, FL who was running a anti noise/low flight campaign. The thing was he moved in to his house (Mini McMansion) about 50 years after the airport put the runway in. Sure, the planes did fly over at 200 feet, but that's because the runway was 1/4 miles away. Anyhow, he was always calling the tower and complaining and they would just nod and smile. The best part though was that there was this really big tree on his property that he refused to cut down which stuck up into the finals. There was an on going court case about it for a while. Just about every pilot going in there would power up or unflatten the props just over his house if they could.
 
bdhill1979 said:
Some "pilot" called about me once, said I was buzzing his house at 200 feet.

The flight school director called me in and wanted me to give my side of the story. I was doing ground ref at about 1000 AGL.

The best part is I had my GPS tracks to prove my altitude, so I showed that to the director and he called the guy right there and told him that I had a GPS track proving my altitude.

He full on told the guy "Please don't bother us with innacurate reports, we teach our students to fly right and it is a total waste of my time."

Unless they can prove something, which he can't, I would just leave it be.
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U77 is notorious for that. I was "reported" for flying to low over some vets place on the nw corner of the airport. I am not sure how else I would shoot an approach to the airport. That guy seems just mad at the world.
Shane
 
The airport that I did my flight training had a restriction on touch and goes on weekends. No problem, I always did full stops. Well finally it was changed allowing touch and goes whenever you want. I had a guy walk across the street from his house to come yell at me while I was finishing up by the hangar. He was yelling at me about how I am breaking "the law of aviation" and should be reported.

I laughed at him as I looked up at the tower and pointed at it. I told him that is what we call a control tower and how everything is okay and they know what is going on. I also told him about how the rules have changed.

Next morning I went out to fly again. Since it was a flight schools plane, obviously a lot of different people fly it. When I contacted ground he asked if I was the one who had to deal with the guy yesterday. I told him yea. He laughed and was like well he called the tower to report you. We both laughed about it and he said it took him many times to explain that the restriction had been lifted. He said to the guy that he should look at it this way; all those airplanes are his kids, he is the dad in the tower overlooking everyone to make sure they are safe and not breaking rules.

The tower was really cool and I'm sure you will be fine.
 
Maybe I am a bit more the confrontational type, but I would have calmly had words with the man and let him guide the severity of the conversation, always being a step below him in that measurement. Just letting him get away with it means he will do it again, to others and possibly you.

Here is a GOOD story about letting people get away with things….
Planes were flying in pretty steadily for the airshow here in Temple this weekend. I was watching from our hangar and listening to CTAF on a handheld. A Mooney calls entering downwind, then to base. All of a sudden, a Grumman F8F Bearcat passes low over midfield with no calls (Not illegal I guess). The Mooney calls final and Bearcat zooms around behind him. The Bearcat calls,
"Just let me know when you are clear off the runway Mooney, I am right behind you”.
Click to expand...
"Will do sir”
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calls the Mooney.
Not 10 seconds later, I hear the Bearcat just HOLLERING,
"Move to the right of the runway. Move to the right of the runway”
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, it looked like he was going to land no matter what.
The Mooney calls,
“Are you an Air Traffic Controller sir?”
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That was it. The F8 guy was steamed.
"No but dammit I am trying to land behind you. Maybe you could have some goddam courtesy you •!”.
Click to expand...
Wow! On the radio too.
The Mooney ignored any further comment and taxied off to his hangar.
Noone ever confronted the F8 pilot that I know of. I was told “Oh that’s just (Name here). He is kind of a grumpy guy”. And apparently, he will continue to be.
 
scottyboy75 said:
U77 is notorious for that. I was "reported" for flying to low over some vets place on the nw corner of the airport. I am not sure how else I would shoot an approach to the airport. That guy seems just mad at the world.
Shane
Click to expand...

Yeah, that guy makes a lot of calls, and with the way U77 will be growing in the next year, probably make more calls. The place is already a hornets nest of training flights, I seriously will takeoff and go to 36U or U14 if I want to do any practice.

"Uuhhhhh Spanish traffic......wolf uuhhhhhhhhhhh............6 uuhhhhh... turning downwin... I mean final for uhhhhh runway thirty.......................(doesn't unkey mic)............"
 
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