Pilot grounded

[Hornet33]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eGsHszYnYMI

Vermont Air Guard pilot grounded after Fenway Park flyover

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)—A Vermont Air National Guard pilot who took part in a flyover of Fenway Park during opening day ceremonies has been grounded for making an improper maneuver near the park, a Guard spokesman said Thursday.

The F-16 pilot flew under and over the other three F-16s in the formation at about 1,200 feet over Boston on Tuesday afternoon because he was going too fast and was late joining the formation, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow said.

“It is a legitimate maneuver. It is normally done at 5,000 feet or above,” Goodrow said. “The crowd loved it, but it was not a planned maneuver.”

Goodrow would not release the name of the pilot.

People at Fenway Park or watching the Boston Red Sox’s opening day ceremonies on television saw three planes flying wing tip to wing tip when the fourth plane approached from behind and then appeared to curve around the other aircraft.

Goodrow said it was not an acrobatic stunt.

“At no time was the public in danger,” Goodrow said. “Our pilot is a very skilled pilot. He maintained full control of the airplane.”

Red Sox spokesman John Blake said Thursday the team hadn’t heard any complaints about the maneuver.

“I think we were made aware of it today by the Green Mountain Boys,” Blake said Thursday. “Nobody here has had a lot of time to find out what happened.”

Goodrow said Guard officials saw the maneuver on television.

“We all said, ‘Wow, that’s not right.’ All the aviators knew what was going on,” Goodrow said. “They said, ‘That was a bit unusual.”’

The pilot was suspended after he landed back at the Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

“The pilot has been grounded, not as a punishment but so we can provide remedial training in tactics and procedures so this situation does not happen again,” Goodrow said. “He might have made other choices to rejoin the formation.”

There was no word on how long the pilot would remain grounded.

Opps. Maybe next time he should try the speed brakes

[SD67]

I could see how the crowd would have loved that
If he'd just popped the brakes and tried too form on the seconds' wing he may have ended up wearing it, so evading was the better course of action. While there may well have been better options, it certainly was spectacular!

[boxboy28]

Im making a totally stupid guess here.....but i got the feeling the offending pilot might have been a hometown boy who wished he could have been at the game on opening day......but since he couldnt decided to give them a lil show!

[Maverick]

I thought it looked absolutely fantastic. I understand the issue of the low altitude and the stadium however. Frankly it looked better than a standard flyover to me.

Best of luck to the pilot and I hope it goes well for him.

[USRanger]

Remember, this is America where everything has to be childproofed, sissified, and 100% safe.  One of the coolest flyovers ever, and instead of ooohh ahhh, we get waaa waaaa.  My gawd, do we have to remove excitement out of everything nowadays?  Now I wish he would have dropped a drop tank right on the pitchers mound.

[USRanger]

CONSUMER NOTICE: "Every copy of Top Gun has been recalled, as the fly-by scenes may show children the world is not 100% safe."-N.A.N.A. National Association of Neutered Americans.

Also in the news:"The Blue Angels must keep a 500 ft. Elmo Zone between each aircraft,  Any closer proximity between planes may cause unnecessary cheers, excitement and smiles."-The Estrogen Times

[Kermit de frog]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wxEcYnB_nls&feature=related

Here's another view of it with more of the audiences reaction.

[cpxxx]

“The pilot has been grounded, not as a punishment but so we can provide remedial training in tactics and procedures so this situation does not happen again,” Goodrow said. “He might have made other choices to rejoin the formation.”

Slap on the wrist. I think the issue here is not so much the manoeuvre but the fact that he was late in joining the formation and instead of either accepting the situation and either simply followed the other three through or turned away. He decided to try an obviously unrehearsed manoeuvre. It looked good and he got away with it. But as any airshow or display pilot will tell you there is no place for spontaneity on the day. It needs to be practised.  It can go very wrong horribly quickly.  He'll know that himself anyway.

I saw the 'Green Mountain Boys' in action when I spent time in Burlington. They woke me up once or twice as I tried to sleep after a night shift in IBM. But I didn't mind. I envied those guys their F16s. I got my own back though, when a couple of Vipers were forced to hold on the taxyway while I landed in my little rented Cessna 150 putt putt on runway 19.
It's kinda my idea of heaven, living in VT and flying F16s at least in Summer anyway.