Four Of The Aircraft Buzzed Bank Of America Stadium Last Year

The pilots of four A-10 'Warthog' aircraft acted in a manner that was "careless and reckless" when they made a low pass over Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC last August.

That is the assessment of the FAA in a preliminary report on the incident. But the agency was loathe to release the information, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Charlotte Observer newspaper.

According to the report. the planes flew as low as 500 feet AGL, which the paper reports is lower than the top of the nearby Duke Energy Center. Federal regulations require a waiver to fly lower than 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle “within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.”

The flight of four originated at Moody AFB in Valdosta, and it startled people working in nearby office buildings, as well as the Carolina Panthers players and coaches practicing for the upcoming season.

According to the FAA's 'Pilot Deviation Report' obtained by the paper, the aircraft requested a flyover of the stadium at 500 feet AGL. While ATC approved the request, the pilots did not have the required waiver for low-level high-speed flight over populated areas.”

The reports says that the pilots committed "careless or reckless aircraft operation" and "unauthorized low-level flying". They also failed to abide by a requirement not to fly faster than 250 knots when flying under 10,000 ASL.

The final report is under review, according to the FAA. The pilots were grounded while the investigation is being conducted. Moody AFB would not comment to the Charlotte Observer for the story.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.faa.gov