Glider Pilot arrested for airspace

On 1/11/2013 5:35 PM, Ramy wrote:
On Friday, January 11, 2013 4:16:27 PM UTC-8, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 1/11/2013 1:07 PM, son_of_flubber wrote:

This seems to be a perfect cue for glider operations to announce
"First Responder Appreciation Day" at the airport. Free glider
rides, toy gliders for the kids, barbeque, etc..



We need to cultivate good long term non-confrontational
relationships
with first-responders. The good guys will keep the loose cannons
in
check if they understand what the heck we are doing up there in
the
sky without an engine.


I'd prefer to see a big smile on the deputy's face when an irate
farmer calls him/her out to mediate a contentious land out.



I like the way you think. Suppose, instead of just agreeing not
pursue
legal action, the pilot had every local person involved - plant
operators, managers, police officers, sheriff - agree to come out
to the
glider field for a free glider ride as part of the "no legal
action"

deal. And tell them their kids can have a free ride, too!

It may not be too late: extend the offer ASAP to as many of the
people

as can be reached, maybe get the local paper in on it. Possibly,
Bermuda

Soaring could bring the towplane and glider to the airport the
glider

pilot landed at, and give the rides there. That might get even
more

people out.


You kidding, right? If not, I suggest you ask Robin first if this is
what he perceives as reward for putting him in jail.

I think countering ignorance with education is a good idea. They'd learn
glider pilots are real people with no intent to harm, they'd learn
something about the sport and be less fearful of gliders over the
reactor, and possibly, they or someone they know would be interested
enough to take up the sport. Imagine how differently they might look at
glider pilots if a few kids got rides.

If nothing else, the offer might get them thinking they may have
misjudged the situation.

On the other hand, a counterattack, such as by suing, might confirm (at
least in their minds) they did the right thing, and God help the next
pilot that gets them excited.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

Sure, why not reward them even more.
I wonder if you would think the same after seating in jail sharing a cell with criminals for over 24 hours due to these morons.
I for one hope that the agreement not to sue them has no merit and that Robin will be able to buy himself a nice collection of new motorgliders funded by their pensions and bonuses, to make up for the trauma of spending a day and night in jail.
Sigh!!

Ramy

On Friday, January 11, 2013 11:22:02 PM UTC-5, Ramy wrote:
I wonder if you would think the same after seating in jail sharing a cell with criminals for over 24 hours due to these morons.

I for one hope that the agreement not to sue them has no merit and that Robin will be able to buy himself a nice collection of new motorgliders funded by their pensions and bonuses, to make up for the trauma of spending a day and night in jail.

I totally sympathize with Robin for his ordeal. I think that he was wise and mature to deescalate the situation.

Bermuda High is in Appalachia. You've heard of the Hatfields and McCoys feud? The Sheriff was wrong, but I imagine that he and all of his buddies are still blaming those rich "glider folk". The sheriff needs to save face. The most dangerous thing in the world is to make a person feel stupid. That never ends well. I'm sure that Bermuda High has already taken steps to mend fences.

My suggestion for "first responder appreciation day" was more directed to other gliding centers where we can make friends and educate before we stumble into a nasty misunderstanding such as this. This incident shows that nuclear power plants are a special case and that some preemptive communication and education is well-advised. People are frightened of what they don't understand. The sheriff panicked.

On 1/11/2013 8:22 PM, Ramy wrote:
Sure, why not reward them even more. I wonder if you would think the
same after seating in jail sharing a cell with criminals for over 24
hours due to these morons. I for one hope that the agreement not to
sue them has no merit and that Robin will be able to buy himself a
nice collection of new motorgliders funded by their pensions and
bonuses, to make up for the trauma of spending a day and night in
jail. Sigh!!

I'm sure it's hard in the heat of the moment to take the long term view,
and I don't fault the pilot for not doing it. My suggestion is just an
extension of the usual advice for handling a landout: try to make
friends, try to get the farmer to the glider club for a ride.

I think it's a low risk strategy:

-if they are just ignorant, possibly now feeling foolish about
overreacting, an offer like this would calm them and give them the
chance to understand and like us; suing or similar might just make
enemies, which is even worse than ignorance

-if they are genuine a-holes without hope of redemption, they'll still
be a-holes without hope of redemption; suing or similar might make them
more careful the next time, but there's a good chance it would just make
them worse

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

It bears mention that this incident took place on July 26, 2012.

On Friday, January 11, 2013 2:40:10 PM UTC-8, glidergreg wrote:
I have it on very good authority that the cooling towers of nuclear power plants provide extremely strong and reliable sources of lift. Generally that lift is downwind of the source and not over the actual cooling tower or associated facilities.

Some important points to consider.

Local authorities have no jurisdiction for the use or control of aircraft operating in US airspace.

Only the FAA or a US military aircraft may request or require you land your aircraft.

There is no such thing as a “No Fly Zone”.

In you are not under arrest, you are free to go and must be released.

If you are under arrest, you must be allowed access to an attorney.

While under arrest you are not required to answer any questions.

You may of course be determined to be an "enemy combatant" even if you are a US citizen. In which case you have no rights.

Craig

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

Get another lawyer and sue the *******s.
At the very least the Sheriff needs to be sacked!





t 13:54 11 January 2013, wrote:
I just read the article. Its pretty scary to know that those charged with
e=
nforcing the laws can be so ignorant of them. An initial misunderstanding
i=
s forgivable (I guess)but to be locked up overnight is not. I was a cop
for=
25 years and its unbelievable that someone didn't step up and say "Its
ob=
vious this guy is not a terrorist. What are we doing here?" I don't
think
=
I'd be as understanding as the glider pilot and I'd certainly wouldn't
agre=
e to not sue, even if its unlikely I'd ever recover anything. Make 'em
swea=
t, at least. I'd definitely want to know who authorized that charges be
fil=
ed and seek a public apology.

In article Ramy writes:
Sure, why not reward them even more.
I wonder if you would think the same after seating in jail sharing a cell with criminals for over 24 hours due to these morons.
I for one hope that the agreement not to sue them has no merit and that Robin will be able to buy himself a nice collection of new motorgliders funded by their pensions and bonuses, to make up for the trauma of spending a day and night in jail.
Sigh!!

I'm with Ramy on this. I would wish that some other entity could establish
that they had grounds to sue the local county over this. Perhaps AOPA provided
legal services to the pilot, and therefore has some cost incurred in the matter.
They didn't agree not to sue.

Either that, or demonstrate that the agreement not to sue was coerced through
force or threat of force, and is invalid.

In reality, I expect that neither will happen. Folks will just hope that the
government will not enact even more restrictions on general aviation.

Alan

One must wonder why it took 6 month to go viral on RAS...

Ramy