Event Spokesman Confirms FAA Race Approvals Still Under Way...
BUT NOT YET GRANTED
In a story broken last week by ANN and earning extensive concern
and attention from the airshow and air racing community, we have
confirmed that the UARC (Ultimate Air Race Championship) has
eliminated controversial Pilot David Riggs from its program. First
described as "Mixed Martial Arts with Airplanes," it appears that
the fledgling race program is reshuffling its pilot roster in order
to present a more conservative profile to an industry wary of
controversy and the potential of bad press.
A UARC spokesman explains that the group is "trying hard" to
build a credible reputation and hopes that paring Riggs off the
pilot's roster will allow them time to complete their program
development and build a solid reputation for the future.
UARC didn't make an auspicious start, PR-wise. The initial
announcements created significant confusion in regards to a number
of claims that were later proven to have little or no foundation in
fact. At one point UARC claimed that veteran airshow pilot and
industry legend, Corkey Fornof had been named as a member of the
Board of Advisors (and was still posted as such on the web site
when our original story was published) but in conversations with
ANN, Fornof indicated that he had refused involvement, not once,
but twice, due to heavy schedule commitments and his own concerns
about the fledgling program. UARC officials eventually copped to
Fornof's refusal but blamed the matter on an error on the part of
an over-eager PR flak.
Additionally; the same press release claimed that the racing
program had been approved by the FAA and that UARC was already
scheduling races for this summer. FAA officials have confirmed that
no approvals have been issued for UARC, or associated parties, and
that the only activity that had earned the FAA's blessing was a
brief series of practice flights in California... to train some of
the seven named "World's Best" pilots... several of whom had little
or no formal Air Race credentials. UARC officials later amended
their claims to state that they had applications before the FAA for
the intended race program, admiited that several of the pilots had
little air race experience and were anticipating the proper
FAA approval in the not too distant future. Other discrepancies
included quotes by parties who later indicated that they were not
the source of the subject remarks and a number of questions about
the claims and history of the race's 'Lead' Pilot.
Former UARC Pilot, David
Riggs
The primary concerns over UARC's announcement centered
on the presence of Pilot David Riggs, a self-described world
champion pilot and aviation entrepreneur. While little evidence was
available to back up those claims, quite a lot of other data was
soon found to indicate that Riggs's claims deserved and required
additional scrutiny. As it turns out, Riggs (at the very least) is
quite well known in aviation circles... most particularly for his
FAA violations, criminal arrest and eventual conviction for a stunt
in Southern California in which he buzzed the Santa Monica Pier at
VERY low level via L-39, scared the hell out of a lot of people
(based on our examination of a number of the 911 calls) and
executed a sudden aggressive pull-up and low-level aerobatics just
as a collision with the pier appeared imminent. The incident was
quite widely reported in general and aviation media and
created a considerable number of negative stories about his
actions that reflected very poorly on the aviation community.
The stunt, which occurred in November 2008, was allegedly an effort
to generate "buzz" for a movie.
Screen-Grab of Video
Shot During SMA Pier Incident
Riggs was charged with flying too low over the Santa Monica pier
at over 250 knots in a Czech-built Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros
as well as performing low-level aerobatics over a populated
area. A second pilot, Skip Holm, was also part of the formation,
and a third airplane was towing a banner promoting the movie. A
story in the LA Times reported that Riggs said there was no danger
because the aircraft were well maintained and flown by a skilled
pilot. He also contended that some witnesses were unclear on
whether it was he or Holm who was flying the plane which performed
the maneuvers.
The FAA almost immediately revoked Riggs' pilot certificate, but
on March 17th of 2009, an administrative law judge modified that
revocation order to a 210 day suspension, and it was eventually
reinstated.
Riggs was criminally charged and eventually sentenced by a
California Superior Court to 60 days in jail, 36 months probation,
and a $900 fine in connection with the incident. He was also
ordered to perform 60 days community service cleaning up Santa
Monica Beach. It was hardly the only legal/criminal altercation for
Riggs -- who has a long history, documented in a number of press
reports and government, of his legal altercations... including
numerous criminal charges, significant prison time and a long
string of mis-deeds that are detailed in several published
documents about his criminal exploits that stretch back several
decades.
According to the testimony given during an NTSB Hearing before
an NTSB Law Judge, Riggs, "...conceded having a history in which he
had convictions of a misdemeanor, stealing by deceit, and as he
indicated, also had done prison time for wire fraud, bank fraud,
which of course taken into consideration on credibility of the
witnesses."
Finally; the bad and negative press accorded aviation has
created such a backlash in the aviation community that at least one
person has gone so far as to dedicate a web site to his alleged
transgressions (www.aviationcriminal.com).
The UARC, pending FAA approval, plans their first American event
in Camarillo, California, this August 20-21st.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.20.24): Light Gun
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