A parent was given a trespass warning by a school in my county based on his inability to control himself in terms of his foul language and attempts to personally coach his high school child during football games. He responded by building a tall deer-blind like structure for the back of his truck and parked on the street close to the field and watched the games from there.

Last night, he rented a small airplane, rode with the pilot and had the pilot "buzz" the baseball field several times, especially when the pitcher was about to pitch. Needless to say, this activity disrupted the game.

Anyone know of any statute that could be used against the father or the pilot?

Short of looking up FAA small-engine flight regulations (I don't know the first thing about them), what about disorderly conduct (42.01(a)(2) or (5))?

And it's an interesting question, also, whether he actually could be charged with trespassing - in property law (help me!!!) I think I recall that the extent of the property owned by a party is earth to sky - so is airspace "property" for this purpose?

I do not have my FAR with me but i know that a statute exists dealing with "endangering the public" which in essence says that you cannot fly below 1000 feet above a crowded public area. In this case it would be the pilot that would have a violation not the passenger. I am NOT a lawyer. I can however assure that the FFA takes these cases very seriously. It is common for pilots (however stupid they may be) to "buzz" things but this action is specifically addressed in the FAR`S. You would need eye witnesses (credible & multiple) as well as the "N" number of the aircraft to take this to the FAA. I am not a professional pilot but i do hold a current IFR ticket and as such was required years ago in my training to be familiar with these rules. In the event that none of the people who witnessed the action can remember the "N" number of the aircraft most pilots who are authorized to make a flight like this ("pilot for hire")keep meticulous flight logs. My guess is that the aircraft is a part of a local flight school at your nearest airport which supports flight training. AOPA is a great organization for us pilots and I`m sure they would take a call from you and tell you (they have a legal division) immediately what action you could take.

AOPA can be contacted @ 800 872 2672

Deputy Sheriffs waited at the county airport for the plane to land and were able to indentify the pilot, plane and parent who hired the pilot. FAA was contacted that evening. There may be a municipal ordinance that prohibits flying lower than 1000 feet. Also Education Code 37.124, Disrupting Classes / School Activities may apply. (But only a Class C)

I got a root canal this morning and then came to the office just to check on things and ran into this problem.(Never a dull moment in this county!)

Thanks for all the suggestions.

You+root canal = small pain for short time.

Pilot+FAA = large pain for a long time.

Pilots that have FAA enforcements enacted against them rarely fare well. Revocations and/or suspensions are quite common. It can be very damaging especially if the pilot flys for a living. One thing to remember is the term "PIC". This means pilot in command and the FAA takes it quite literally as in the pilot is responsible for anything,everthing,all actions,all inactions and the color of his shirt while airborne.

As an aside, Ken, when I was in high school (and you know where I went to High School), one of the kids who had his pilot's license and his own plane decided that he and a friend would buzz the football game and throw toilet paper rolls as "bombs". It was so long ago that I can't remember if they bombed the football team, the crowd or band at halftime, but many rolls were thrown.

Unfortunately, he wasn't aware of some low power lines in that area, and they died in the crash.

I could go on for hours about why not to buzz things.