Naval pilots PERMANENTLY grounded for flyover

This is b.s. I think permanant grounding is a bit harsh.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/navy-grounds-pilots-for-392423.html

 

Those videos are badass! They look damn close to those buildings once they pass the stadium!

 

I don't know, that was pretty damn stupid. And saying they didn't know they were below 1,000 feet, the minimum flyover altitude? Bullshit. There's no way in HELL they didn't know they were below. That statement in itself probably went a long way towards screwing them.

Seriously, that was dangerous as shit at that altitude. Especially since the Blue Angels crash in Beaufort a couple years ago. Just a slight error and that would have been disastrous. The other thing that screwed them is that they did something that stupid over a HEAVILY populated area.

I went to The Citadel, so we have flyovers by our grads all the time but even our guys stay above the cap. And Charleston is nowhere near as heavily populated, especially where our campus is located, in comparison to downtown Atlanta.

 

Dammit Maverick

 

What?

 

That video was badass! Sent chills up my spine. I go to school next to Dobbins Air Base and I love watching those jets and the Rapters fly around there. I'm no Naval aviator but I think once you reach that level, there was no danger of them hitting the buildings. I also don't think flying 1000 ft above the stadium as opposed to say 500 ft is going to minimize the risk associated with flying over a populated area if something goes wrong. I just think in this new era of pc everyone is over reacting. Of course they bent the rules a little bit and deserved some punishment, but ending their careers??? C''mon son! The review board even agrees but the final descision was out of their hands. The sissification of America at it's best.

 

Sorry Goose... Time to buzz the tower.

I read through the article and I didn;t see where it mentioned that the two were permanently grounded. Only shows that they are under evaluation for suspension.

 

talk to me goose.

 

Not worried about them as much as I am for the very strong possibility of a bird into the intakes of the planes at that altitude. Has nothing to do with PC. Has to do with breaking a very important rule on a flight that was allowed them as a complete honor and then telling a very stupid lie to try to cover themselves. A blatant lie, actually. The amount of hell there would have been to pay had one or both of those planes augered into downtown Atlanta would have been unbelievable!

 

Penny Benjamin?

 

I think it's a bit harsh.... If Maverick didn't get grounded, these two shouldn't either... I would they say they were too close for missiles, and switched to guns as they approached the stadium though

 

from the article...

"The board concluded the pilots chose to use barometric altitude measurements (feet above sea level) instead of radar altitude measurements (feet above ground level) but failed to adjust their warning systems accordingly, the newspaper reported. By the time the alarm sounded, it was too late to correct the mistake."

Sounds like they did it wrong if they used the barometric method. If you need to be 1000ft over the stadium and the stadium is 500 above sea level... just fly over it at 1500ft indicated altitude with the local barometric setting in your altimeter. That's like day one flight school stuff.

On the other hand, i don't think their careers should be over due to something like this.

 

Im more worried about our government paying for 2 fighter planes to fly over a college football game. I bet that was cheap....

 

That wasn't as low as a coast guard flyover I saw in Tampa this year at the Saints game. Check you tube for "Tampa bay flyover"
AC-130 with two helicopters, I could see the expression on the two guys faces sitting on the back deck of the 130, AWESOME!!

 

Ahhh the good ole "write off"

 

Seen many fly overs this low.As far as a bird strike it would not have caused a crash.It's not like they were at a high angle of attack where engine failure would be critical.

 

Umm....very wrong and very illegal. In situations like this, the FAR's come into play as well. FAR's are primary rules for flight, military regs supplement those rules or provide for rules outside the FAR's boundries. FAR's require a minimum of 1000' AGL (Above Ground Level) above the highest obstacle within a 2000 ft radius of the aircraft in a congested area. That includes towns, cities, and open air activities.

For an instructor pilot to say "I used baro instead of AGL" is bullshit. If he really did make that error, then he at very least should not be an instructor and probably shouldn't be flying at all. I think that what got him grounded was the lack of integrity and the public exposure. With the vids, there was no chance at all of denying that he wasn't below 1k' AGL. With the public attention and the FAA scrutiny the Navy was most likely pressured to act accordingly. Also, the example set by not punishing such acts by anyone is increased with the increased responsibility of being a NATOPS instructor.

Consider what the press coverage would be if a mechanical failure occured or if a collision occured with an object at the event? What would the press and public feel about the "recklessness" of the pilots and their illegal actions, how the military pilots are "cowboys" and could care less about public safety in the name of bravado. Anyone remember the B-52 that crashed in preparation for the Spokane Airshow? Remember how the fall out of how the guy should have been grounded from earlier illegal flight maneuvers but wasn't the the fall-out from that? This guys is lucky to have kept his commission and retirement.

 

Umm....What was their altitude prior to the footage and after? What if they left controlled flight prior the footage view? Where would their trajectory have taken them? I'm not familiar with the location of that stadium, is it surrounded by residential areas? What if the bird damaged flight controls or went into the canopy killing the pilot? What if the powerloss caused a momentary loss of control and caused a mid-air collision between the two aircraft?