Jets Aren't Allowed To Operate At Bader Field

The pilot of a Cessna Citation that ended up in the water at the end of an Atlantic City, NJ, runway could face punitive action from the FAA. Government officials said he wasn't supposed to lander at Bader Field.

As ANN reported Monday, the aircraft skidded off the runway on its second approach to Bader. The pilot, 61-year old Erik Larson, reportedly told authorities his brakes failed on landing.

There was no immediate indication why Larson decided to attempt a landing at Bader rather than at Atlantic City International Airport, just ten miles away.

"We do not allow jets at Bader Field," Mark Klieger, facility manager for South Jersey Air, which operates Bader Field, told the Atlantic City Courier-Post. He suggested Larson might have planned his flight using an airport directory not sanctioned by the FAA. Only the FAA directory contains the warning to jet operators not to land at Bader Field, he said.

Larson, his copilot and two female passengers aboard the aircraft were slightly hurt in the mishap.

"What we have the authority to do is either suspend or revoke a pilot's certificate," said FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac, quoted by the Courier-Post. "We can suspend it for varying time frames. Those kind of actions wouldn't be taken until we find out more about the circumstances."

FMI: www.faa.gov