Thought He Was About To Land At Lafayette... But Landed At IND

Well, you know what they say about men and directions (hey, I resemble that remark! -- Ed.) A brand new pilot making his first solo flight in Indiana caused a bit of a problem Sunday, when he caused three aircraft to delay their landings while he tried to figure out where he was.

Keith J. Sharpe, 69, thought he was inbound to Purdue University Airport in Lafayette and was trying to contact that tower. However, he was actually in Indianapolis International Airport's airspace, and had entered it without permission, reported the Indy Star.

The IND tower began tracking Sharpe when he was three miles northwest of the airport -- and about 51 nautical miles southeast of LAF. Controllers directed him to land on any IND runway -- pronto.

"We determined that if he wasn't sure where he was, we wanted to land him right away," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Tony Molinaro. "We didn't want to take any chances with him being up in the air."

According to the FAA, controllers had pilots of three other incoming aircraft hold until Sharpe's Cessna was safely on the ground.

Sharpe told airport police he believed he was about to land in Lafayette and was trying to contact that Lafayette's tower.

The novice pilot was greeted to a swarm of airport police upon landing, but he was not arrested. However, officers informed him he could face federal charges for violating FAA airspace regulations, according to a police report.

The Indy Star said Sharpe could not be reached for comment.

FMI: www.indianapolisairport.com