Pilot's Mistake Leads To SWAT Drama In Georgetown, SC

A funny thing happened to Harry Butler when he landed his Cessna 501 at the airport in Georgetown, SC, last Thursday. He suddenly found his aircraft surrounded by Georgetown County deputies -- many of them in full SWAT gear. The reason they were there? Apparently, Butler punched in the wrong transponder code.

It was the first time in Butler's seven-year flying career that his aircraft had gone completely NORDO -- both radios failed. So he changed his transponder setting from the assigned code to 7600... or so he thought. Instead, he apparently punched up 7500 -- the common code indicating a hijacking underway.

That was over Columbia. Butler, chairman of the state ports authority, circled for awhile, waiting for an opportunity to make a VFR approach, then decided it would be smarter to head back home to Georgetown. When he landed there, however, he found the SWAT team waiting for him.

The errant transponder code was received by the tower at Myrtle Beach International Airport. Controllers called the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and the FAA. More than a dozen deputies in SWAT regalia responded to the Georgetown Airport.

The story ended well. Butler and his copilot were detained until the FBI and FAA could get people on the ground at Georgetown, but that was the worst of it. After two hours, the two were released.

"It was a learning experience," Butler later told the Myrtle Beach Sun.

FMI: www.faa.gov