Faa Report Low Flying Aircraft - Crime and Security It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it was a helicopter, FAA says. The FAA said the low-flying plane seen over Tewksbury on Tuesday was a helicopter, not a passenger plane, as many residents claim.
TEWKSBURY, MA - The Federal Aviation Administration says the low-flying plane that several Tewksbury residents reported seeing over town on Tuesday was a helicopter -- not a passenger jet. The FAA was contacted Wednesday after seeing dozens of social media posts where people heard and saw a low-flying passenger plane pass about 200 feet above the ground around 11:30 a.m.
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"Based on the time of day, we believe it was a Robinson R22 helicopter conducting pipeline patrol operations in the area," Jim Peters, an FAA spokesman in Burlington, said in an email.
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Last week, Tewksbury police warned residents that a helicopter would be inspecting utilities in the area, but those inspections were scheduled to be completed by Sunday. And even after the FAA response, Tewksbury residents were adamant that what they saw was a jet, not an airplane.
"There was a jet and 2 minutes later a police helicopter headed in the same direction," a witness posted on a Facebook group for Tewksbury residents after he was told of the FAA's response.
Writing on the same forum, Patty Green described the plane as "creepy low" and loud. She said the plane — or helicopter, if you're the FAA — was low enough that she could tell if the window shades were up or down in each window. "Been here 25 years and never seen so little," Greene wrote. Another person said the plane was flying northwest over Tewksbury, while another believed he saw black smoke coming from the back of the wings, and then saw a state police helicopter moments later.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, which operates the air wing and police helicopter, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday morning. Residents were so incredulous about the helicopter explanation that it reached Peters a second time on Wednesday afternoon.
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"Based on time and location, the helicopter is what we have identified," Peters said in an email.
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@ or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites). CHARLOTTE, NC (Rick Rothecker/The Charlotte Observer) - The pilots of the four A-10 jets that crashed into Bank of America Stadium in August were "careless and reckless." Flying lower and faster than authorized, according to initial reports obtained by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act.
The report, as well as emails sent by Air Force chiefs, suggest the fighter jets may be flying as high as 500 feet above the ground. That's lower than the top of the nearby Duke Energy Center.
According to federal regulations, an aircraft flying over a congested area needs an exemption to fly below 1,000 feet of the highest obstacle "within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet from the aircraft."
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On the morning of August 29, A-10C Thunderbolt II jets departed Charlotte Douglas International Airport for a routine training flight back to Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga. Before leaving the city, they zipped by the stadium and downtown. At a surprise air show for surprise residents, office workers and practicing Carolina Panthers players and coaches.
Emails obtained by the Observer show that the incident caught the attention of commanders at Moody within hours, and that the Air Force chief of staff and the Air Force secretary then requested updates.
According to the FAA's initial "Pilot Deviation Report" filed shortly after the incident, four A-10s requested to fly 500 feet above the ground above the stadium. Air traffic control approved the request, but the pilots "had no excuse for low-level high-speed flight over populated areas," the report said.
The pilots engaged in "careless or reckless aircraft operation", "unauthorized low-level flight" and failed to comply with the requirement not to exceed 250 knots (288 mph) when flying below 10,000 feet above sea level. Conclusions
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FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said preliminary reports are filed shortly after an incident, which speeds up the investigation. "The final report is being examined," she said. "We are providing the results of the military incident investigation to the (US Air Force) for action, if any is necessary."
The day after the flight, Moody Air Force Base said the pilots had not yet completed an investigation. Moody did not comment.
A-10 "Warthogs," twin-engine jets that provide close air support in combat, departed Charlotte at 11:40 am. on Monday, Aug. 29 and arrived at Moody a little more than an hour later, according to the FAA. The record-breaking aircraft is part of the 74th Fighter Wing, which is part of the 23rd Fighter Wing, which is part of the 23rd Air Force Wing.
4:45 p.m. By Monday, the commander of the 23rd Fighter Group asked about the flight. He sent an email to the commander of the 74th Fighter Wing with a link to a Charlotte Observer story that included a photo of an A-10 on top of Bank of America Stadium.
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In a subsequent exchange, the commander of the 74th Fighter Wing, whose name was also redacted, said the stadium was 180 feet high, "but I think the perspective of that picture is deceiving."
Later that evening, the 74th Fighter Squadron commander sent an email with more details about the flight. "The flight lead maintained the formation at 1,000 (above ground level)" according to Air Force requirements, although it was allowed to go as low as 500 feet above ground level, the commander said.
"No members of the formation had partners, friends or family in or around the stadium at the time of departure," he added.
In a follow-up email, the battle group commander said he wanted to know how close the A-10 was to the 786-foot building east of the stadium, referring to the Duke Energy Center.
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Later that evening, Colonel Thomas Kunkel, commander of the 23rd Wing and head of the battle group commander, was part of another email chain. He told Maj. Gen. Scott Zobrist, commander of the 9th Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, that the battle group was investigating the matter. "All 4 pilots are grounded until further notice," he added.
At 6:58 am the next morning, Kunkle forwarded an email to the battle group commander that showed Zobrist giving a high-level update to Air Combat Command in Langley, Va.
An e-mail the next day, August 31, to the head of the Air Force, General David Goldfein, shows the situation is escalating.
William McClure, deputy director general for current operations at Air Force headquarters, sent an email to multiple Air Force leaders saying the chief of staff "wants to know details" about the A-10 incident. McLure added that the general set to inform Goldfein "was looking for something as soon as possible."
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It is difficult to determine how low the planes were flying from the report and email, but it appears they may have landed about 500 feet above the ground.
In an email, an official with the Air Combat Command in Virginia reiterated that the jets were allowed to go as low as 500 feet off the ground, but stayed at 1,000 feet. But later, he writes that the planes flew about 500 feet above Bank of America Stadium.
According to the initial FAA report, the A-10 was seen flying 1,200 feet above sea level over Uptown. Bank of America Stadium is 705 feet above sea level, the battle group commander said in an email. That would put the flight about 500 feet above the ground.
As for their speed, the jets flew as fast as 330 knots (about 380 miles per hour), according to the report. The plane had no tapes recording flight data, according to the emails, requiring the Air Force to request this information from the FAA.
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In an Aug. 31 email, the battle group commander told 23rd Wing Commander Kunkel that he continues to receive additional information from the FAA, including audio on whether the jets have been cleared to go above 500 feet above the ground. . "Looking for any communication from them that stated they would be at 1000 feet (above ground level), although it appears they were not," he wrote.
On September 7, emails show that the matter reached Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. A public affairs official told Kunkel that the Air Force secretary is "seeking updates and/or timelines/estimates."
In the most recent email obtained by the Observer, dated Sept. 11, Kunkle told the battle group commander to "make sure we have all the facts," what air traffic control approved, "at what altitude/airspeed and by whom" and " with which was communicated
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