Here is a copy of a letter I just wrote to Senator Feinstein. I copied Duke Energy, the Darlington County Sheriff’s office and the Darlington News.
On July 26, 2012 a glider pilot in South Carolina was thrown in jail, his personal freedom usurped and his legal rights abused by overzealous authorities who lied and threated him under the false pretense of national security.. I ask for your help in ensuring that those who abused their powers are brought to justice and in trying to avoid such travesties in the future.
The events to which I refer is presented at this web site:
http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/article...mp=ePl t:Phto
Security guards at the H.B. Robinson Nuclear Power Plant lied when they said the glider passed over the plant at 100 feet. It was carrying a secure flight recorder which showed he was never lower than 1000 feet above the plant. Recertification of this plant by the nuclear regulatory commission should be withheld until they demonstrate that are not employing guards that are untrustworthy.
The travesty here is that we have people protecting our nuclear plants who are completely unfamiliar with the threat. It will not be a glider which has both limited maneuverability and very limited payload. Nor will it be any light aircraft for that matter. My SUV can carry 10 times the payload of my airplane. The containment building was designed to withstand the impact of an airliner, which weighs a 150 times more and can fly 6 times faster. Please insure the Homeland Security Agency has better trained these people, or limit their funding to the point that they are forced to concentrate on real issues.
A Darlington County Sheriff’s deputy threated to shoot the plane down. That’s a man who should not be carrying a gun or wearing a uniform. Sheriff’s officers also claimed there was a “No fly” zone over the nuclear plant. This too is complete nonsense. Such baseless claims represent an abuse of authority. Please ask the attorney general to look into this further.
Mike Koerner