"Maverick, You Are NOT Cleared To Buzz The Tower!"

For at least one man, the sight of US Navy pilot Richard Webb buzzing the runway at San Luis Obispo Regional Airport in his F-18 Super Hornet was all in good fun, or even inspirational. For others, including Webb himself, it has ignited a firestorm of trouble.

By his own admission, Webb knew it was against the rules when he performed a low (less than 100 ft. AGL) pass over the main runway at KSBP. He was also aware the maximum allowed speed in the Class D air space over the airport was limited by the FARs to 200 knots, or about 230 mph. Webb performed his first low pass at speeds almost three times that.

Cal-Poly student Blaine Medeiros, who was fueling planes at the airport when Webb performed his low pass just after lunchtime on January 21, told Los Angeles' KTLA the sight of Webb's F-18 streaking by out of nowhere was unexpected... and very cool.

Not everyone took it as well, however. San Luis Obispo officials received calls and complaints from all over town about the flyby, and they in turn alerted the Navy about the incident. Naval officials soon opened an inquiry into the young pilot's conduct.

KSBP Manager Klaasje Nairne, upon hearing of the threat to Webb's flying career, attempted to tame the maelstrom. She wrote Webb's superiors that "it was never our intent to be a party to the end of this gentleman's naval aviation career. It would be most regrettable," she added, if the complaint resulted in Webb's grounding.

Nairne was initially alerted to the flyby by an email from Ernie Sebby, a retired corrections officer who saw Webb's jet streak by from his house less than a mile away from the airport.

No dice. Although Webb was recognized by a superior officer as "an energetic junior officer and talented aviator," the commander of the Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet terminated his flight status, sending him to a desk assignment in Qatar.

With four years remaining on his service commission, Webb did not take the reassignment lying down.

"No respected fighter pilot worth his salt can look me in the eye and tell me they've never done the exact same thing," Webb wrote in an email to Ernie Sebby. Webb cc'ed his letter to Sebby to more than 30 people on the email, and soon it was widely circulated among the aviation community.

In the email, Webb also recalled his own days fueling planes at SBP back in 1992, to pay for flying lessons. "The highlight of my day would be when a military fighter jet seemingly appeared out of nowhere and made a high-speed low pass over the runway," Webb wrote. "Talk about motivation."

Sebby, who is a former member of the San Luis Obispo County Airport Land Use Commission and is himself a pilot, maintains he did the right thing by bringing the incident to the attention of authorities. "I wasn't trying to prosecute anyone or get him fired or grounded," Sebby said in a recent interview. "I had no idea it was even a military aircraft."

Sebby also says he is now being blamed by Webb's supporters for single-handedly grounding the hotshot pilot, although he was not the only person who complained of the flyby.

"This thing [Webb] orchestrated against me ... I want the Navy to know I'm not going to let this drop because I'm offended, deeply offended, by this."

FMI: www.faa.gov