Then-Lieutenant Governor Passenger In August Incident

An FAA ruling on a high-speed flyby of the Ohio Statehouse last August shows sometimes, it isn't enough to have friends in "high" places.

As Aero-News reported, then-Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson was a passenger onboard an Ohio Air National Guard F-16 when the plane reportedly flew over downtown Columbus, and the Ohio State University campus, at speeds in excess of 550 mph and reportedly as low as 2,100 feet. That's a clear bust of FAA regulations... which call for a maximum speed of 250 knots (288 mph) below 10,000 feet.

According to the FAA's report on the incident issued earlier this month, the F-16's pilot didn't even have clearance to operate below 10,000 feet -- adding the pilot acted in a manner "contrary" to the rules stating no aircraft should be operated in a careless or reckless manner.

The Columbus Dispatch states the FAA has no authority to discipline a military pilot. FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory confirmed the agency merely turned its report over to the ANG, to assist in its investigation.

Col. Mike Roberts, vice commander of the Ohio ANG's 178th Fighter Wing in Springfield -- the flight's origination point -- said he hadn't seen the FAA's report, but the pilot had already been disciplined for the incident.

"We found that the pilot did inadvertently go faster than FAA regulations allow," Roberts admitted. On the day of the incident, the ANG had stated the flight was a "by the book" demonstration of what an F-16 can do.

The FAA said it received  "a 'couple' of complaints." Others in the city called 911, including one panicked woman who feared the worst from the sight of a military fighter fly low and hot over the city.

Roberts wouldn't comment on the nature of the disciplinary action taken against the pilot.

Some have questioned the length of time taken by the FAA in releasing its report on the incident -- 174 days. Aviation Safety Institute spokesman Mike Overly told the Dispatch that's not surprising, given the nature of the incident.

"I don't think this is really high on their priority list," Overly said, "because this is the military and a politician, a bad combination; and nothing happened except some people got scared."

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ohspri.ang.af.mil/