Landed On Lake Hazeltine Sunday To Watch Ryder Cup Golf Tournament

The pilot of a floatplane found himself in hot water last Sunday after he landed his float-equipped Piper Cub on Lake Hazeltine next to the Hazeltine National Golf Club to try to catch the final round of the Ryder Cup.

There were no TFRs in place during the event, and the lake is listed as an approved landing spot by the state of Minnesota and listed as such by the Seaplane Pilots Association, according to Facebook user Sarah Rovner. However, City laws prevent aircraft from landing on the lake during golf events, according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

Police rowed out to the plane (the motor on their boat failed, according to the report), and took the pilot and a passenger off the plane. Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight called the incident "the most imbecilic thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

The plane remained anchored in the middle of the lake until the event ended, at which time the pilot was allowed to retrieve his aircraft. The pilot was cited for violating the city ordinance and reported to the FAA Flight Standards Office.

But the city's case may not stand up. Redditor chriscicc did some digging into the incident, and found that the FAA confirmed that there was no TFR in place for the Ryder Cup event. The lake is public, but the city adopted its ordinance in August that even prevented homeowners with lakefront property from launching kayaks and other small boats during the event. It also was not posted on the city's news or parks websites. It is also listed as "adopted but not yet codified".

That is a fairly normal practice for temporary laws, according to the Redditor, but since the pilot did not have that information, and the lake is approved as a landing area, the landing certainly falls in a gray area. State statute, meanwhile, does not grant local municipalities the authority to restrict lakes for seaplane use.

The FAA acknowledged that an investigation is open into the case.

The fine, meanwhile, was $300, according to the Redditor, which he points out is "cheaper than Ryder Cup tickets."

(Image from file. Not incident aircraft)

FMI: www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/msp/contact