Pilot May Have Also Busted A Presidential TFR In '06

The FAA is investigating whether a Concord, CA pilot repeatedly buzzed his ex-girlfreind's neighborhood. FAA spokesman Mike Fergus declined to comment on the investigation, but he did confirm that the single engine Beechcraft involved in the low level hijinks belongs to 50 year-old Thomas Mark Huey.

In a two week span in July, residents reported on several occasions that they either saw or heard a small plane at low altitude over their neighborhood. 

"It sounded low and close, you could hear a plane circling," Chris Keith told the San Jose Mercury News.Keith, a 20-year resident of the area, said small plane traffic is normal, since Concord's Buchanan Field is nearby, but that this plane's presence was unusual.

The neighborhood affected includes the home of Huey's estranged girlfriend, who last week was granted a five-year restraining order against him stemming from allegations of domestic violence and harassment.

Kim Lesnansky, a 33-year resident of the neighborhood who lives on Shakespeare Drive, recalled an afternoon sighting where the plane made as many as 100 passes overhead, sometimes getting disturbingly close to the trees around her home, which stand between 40 and 50 feet high. "He was spiraling and slowly descending," Lesnansky said. "I went out to see if he had a heart attack or something. I was afraid he was going to hit (power) wires."

County airport officials received 22 noise complaints about the plane, which has been based out of Buchanan Field for more than 20 years, said airport director Keith Freitas. The complaints were sent to the FAA's Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) in Alameda. There have been no reported complaints about the plane in the past week, Freitas said. They stopped around July 24, which is when the FAA put the pilot on notice, he said.

FAA regulations dictate that a pilot must maintain an altitude of at least 1,000 feet over a congested area. Fergus stated that depth perception from the ground can be misleading, and that people can think a plane is a lot closer than it actually is." Depending on the size of the plane, it could be at 1,000 feet and feel like it's on your shoulder". Penalties for violations range from an admonition to the loss of the pilot's license, Fergus said, adding that a pilot's track record is taken into consideration and that the FAA is given wide latitude in determining punishment. Huey's flight history was not immediately available.

The flights could also yield criminal charges if it's determined the man violated a restraining order by annoying or harassing the protected woman, said Contra Costa County deputy district attorney Jason Peck of the domestic violence unit. Prosecutors may consider filing a separate charge for every flyby, with each count carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail or $1,000 fine, Peck said.

This might not be the first time Huey has been under scrutiny. According to news reports, in October 2006 he was one of two pilots diverted by fighter jets to Merced after entering restricted airspace in Stockton, CA, during a Presidential visit. Huey was interviewed by Secret Service agents and released.

FMI: www.faa.gov