"Maverick, You Are NOT Cleared To Buzz The Tower!"
For at least one man, the sight of US Navy pilot Richard Webb
buzzing the runway at San Luis Obispo Regional Airport in his F-18
Super Hornet was all in good fun, or even inspirational. For
others, including Webb himself, it has ignited a firestorm of
trouble.
By his own admission, Webb knew it was against the rules when he
performed a low (less than 100 ft. AGL) pass over the main runway
at KSBP. He was also aware the maximum allowed speed in the Class D
air space over the airport was limited by the FARs to 200 knots, or
about 230 mph. Webb performed his first low pass at speeds almost
three times that.
Cal-Poly student Blaine Medeiros, who was fueling planes at the
airport when Webb performed his low pass just after lunchtime on
January 21, told Los Angeles' KTLA the sight of Webb's
F-18 streaking by out of nowhere was unexpected... and very
cool.
Not everyone took it as well, however. San Luis Obispo officials
received calls and complaints from all over town about the flyby,
and they in turn alerted the Navy about the incident. Naval
officials soon opened an inquiry into the young pilot's
conduct.
KSBP Manager Klaasje Nairne, upon hearing of the threat to
Webb's flying career, attempted to tame the maelstrom. She wrote
Webb's superiors that "it was never our intent to be a party to the
end of this gentleman's naval aviation career. It would be most
regrettable," she added, if the complaint resulted in Webb's
grounding.
Nairne was initially alerted to the flyby by an email from Ernie
Sebby, a retired corrections officer who saw Webb's jet streak by
from his house less than a mile away from the airport.
No dice. Although Webb was recognized by a superior officer as
"an energetic junior officer and talented aviator," the commander
of the Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet terminated his flight status,
sending him to a desk assignment in Qatar.
With four years remaining on his service commission, Webb did
not take the reassignment lying down.
"No respected fighter pilot worth his salt can look me in the
eye and tell me they've never done the exact same thing," Webb
wrote in an email to Ernie Sebby. Webb cc'ed his letter to Sebby to
more than 30 people on the email, and soon it was widely circulated
among the aviation community.
In the email, Webb also recalled his own days fueling planes at
SBP back in 1992, to pay for flying lessons. "The highlight of my
day would be when a military fighter jet seemingly appeared out of
nowhere and made a high-speed low pass over the runway," Webb
wrote. "Talk about motivation."
Sebby, who is a former member of the San Luis Obispo County
Airport Land Use Commission and is himself a pilot, maintains he
did the right thing by bringing the incident to the attention of
authorities. "I wasn't trying to prosecute anyone or get him fired
or grounded," Sebby said in a recent interview. "I had no idea it
was even a military aircraft."
Sebby also says he is now being blamed by Webb's supporters for
single-handedly grounding the hotshot pilot, although he was not
the only person who complained of the flyby.
"This thing [Webb] orchestrated against me ... I want the Navy
to know I'm not going to let this drop because I'm offended, deeply
offended, by this."