Sat, Jan 24, 2004
Initial BAT: .13 Percent
John V. Salamone won't
be flying himself around for awhile. The FAA, ruling that he
endangered his life and the lives of others, revoked his license
after he allegedly flew his 1967 Cherokee Six (file photo of type,
below) while drunk last week.
Salamone, 44, couldn't be reached for comment.
Authorities say a preliminary breath test rang up .13 percent --
the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream. The legal limit for
flying is .04 percent, while the legal limit for driving in
Pennsylvania is .08 percent.
The FAA ordered Salamone to either mail in his flight
certificate or deliver it to the office in Jamaica (NY). All this,
after Salamone's flight of January 15th, when officials say he
penetrated Philidelphia Class B airspace without permission.
The Cherokee's course, as described by ATC, was a wild one. A
controller reported seeing the radar return about 15 miles
northwest of Philadelphia International Airport, flying toward
town. After allegedly penetration Class B Airspace, FAA Spokesman
Jim Peters said Salamone wandered toward Atlantic City (NJ) and
Ocean City (MD) before making what looked like an approach at a
smaller airport south of Philadelphia. ATC reportedly cleared
Salamone to land -- in the blind, because he wasn't responding to
radio calls.
But instead, Salamone headed for home -- Pottstown-Limerick
Airport. But the saga didn't end there. Authorities say he tried to
fly over a nuclear power plant before being intercepted by a police
helicopter and forced to land.
The FAA says Salamone doesn't have any record of FAR violations
or accidents. It's not clear at this point whether he'll face
criminal charges for the joyride. Authorities in Pennsylvania say
their laws are made to address drunk drivers, not drunk pilots.
More News
Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council Ltd IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of the industry and all regions of the world. As a non->[...]
"During the annual inspection of the B-24 “Diamond Lil” this off-season, we made the determination that 'Lil' needs some new feathers. Due to weathering, the cloth-cove>[...]
Also: Bushcat Woes, Hummingbird 300 SL 4-Seat Heli Kit, Carbon Cub UL The newest Junkers is a faithful recreation that mates a 7-cylinder Verner radial engine to the airframe offer>[...]
Also: Seaplane Pilots Association, Rotax 916’s First Year, Gene Conrad After a decade and a half of struggling with the FAA and other aero-politics, G100UL is in production a>[...]
Also: Martha King Scholarship, Montaer Grows, Textron Updates Pistons, FlySto The FAA is hiring thousands of air traffic controllers, but the window to apply will only be open for >[...]