Post 9-11, airplanes are not toys, kids

There was a little scare at a Marshfield high school football game. A small plane made several low passes over the stadium at a very slow speed during a game on September 30. From the Marshfield News Herald:

With each pass of a low-flying airplane over Beell Stadium on Sept. 30, people sitting around Max Navarro grew more anxious.

It wasn't funny anymore, they said.

A caller to the Marshfield News-Herald, who left a voice message but couldn't be located, said that a neighbor woman was still shaken when she got home. He and his wife had considered leaving the game because they felt they were in danger, the caller said.

Navarro, whose son, Jake, is on the Marshfield High School football team, said the pilot made three passes over the packed stadium on homecoming night.

The aircraft was piloted by a 16-year-old Marshfield boy, according to police records. Authorities are not releasing the pilot's name because he is a juvenile.

It sounds like the 16 year old pilot is in plenty of trouble. It was his employer's plane, and he did not have approval for this stunt. He also may have violated FAA rules by flying too low over the field. The school district is also looking into possible discipline.

The moral of the story (if it isn't painfully obvious enough)? Airplanes have no place in stunts in the post 9-11 world. This kid deserves to lose his pilot's license and some suspension time at school.