Posted on 10/16/2007 4:28:14 AM PDT by brwnsuga
SUFFOLK
The helicopter flew low and fast over the parked cars at Peanut Fest, barely topping the nearby treeline before its nose pulled up in an almost vertical tilt.
Rick Jackson watched the acrobatics Sunday from his nearby hangar. He figured the maneuvers were just part of a solo test run to check the wind.
Then the helicopter flew closer, and Jackson grew alarmed. The rides had already begun.
"You don't do that when you've got people aboard," said Jackson, a licensed pilot and helicopter owner.
The police cut short the helicopter rides at Peanut Fest soon after and arrested the pilot on suspicion of operating an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol, a felony. The pilot, identified as Ronald John Davis Jr., 50, of Naples, Fla., failed a field sobriety test after he was stopped at about
1:30 p.m., said Lt. D.J. George, a police spokeswoman.
Davis, owner of Good Time Helicopters, registered a blood-alcohol concentration of .116 on a preliminary breath test, according to a charging document filed in court.
The legal blood-alcohol concentration for pilots is .04, half the limit for drivers in Virginia, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Pilots also are restricted from drinking alcohol within eight hours of a flight, he said.
Davis was in Western Tidewater Regional Jail on Monday and declined through jail staff to be interviewed. He was scheduled for a bond hearing today.
Festival goers paid $10 each for a ride that took them for one loop around the fairgrounds, a trip that took only a few minutes each. Several people went at a time in the helicopter, a Bell 206L-1 that was built in 1979.
Jackson watched the rides throughout the three-day festival. He said the helicopter flew much more safely on Friday and Saturday.
Linda Stevens, executive director of Peanut Fest, said this was the first time Davis operated at the festival. She said he contacted her. Jesse Johnson, a festival board member, said Davis' contract required him to give 20 percent of his earnings to the festival. Johnson said he did know how many tickets the ride sold.
The white chopper sat surrounded by orange cones Monday afternoon on the festival grounds at the Suffolk Executive Airport.
Peters said Davis has a letter from the FAA authorizing him to be an air ride operator. Among other conditions, the authorization requires operators to have a drug and alcohol prevention program in place, which Davis did, Peters said.
Davis wrote in court records that he travels throughout the country for his work.
An FAA district office in Richmond is investigating the incident and will recommend a response, which can range from no action to a civil penalty and revocation of Davis' pilot certificate, Peters said.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
Hey, how do you think they came up with the name Good Time Helicopters?
I bet he’s a retired Huey or Black Hawk driver. I crewed for some pilots who scared the hell outta me. Ya only puke the first time, after that it’s OK. *kisses ground* but you want people who know how to fly, and fly well, who are at the controls.
Calling Randy Quaid.
A girlfriend of mine and her family were standing in line when the police came to shut the pilot down.
8 Hours bottle to throttle. Makes sense for aircraft. Makes sense for cars and boats, too.
I like drinking. I like driving. I just don’t do them at the same time.
Show me your Tilts!
“...but the worst part was when he started trying to fly inverted.”
Now, you all know what a old single turbine Huey sounds like. The big WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP with lots of whine and mechanical noise thrown in. You would think it would be pretty much impossible to sneak up on somebody standing on the ground who knows you are coming.
But you would think wrong...
Old Sal would come at me from all points of the compass. He would pop up over the tree line about a hundred yards away or over a building or a parked truck(!), and drive that thing onto the ground so fast you barely had time to turn around. Hooo boy! That guy was good!
Awesome stuff. San Franciso is such a bunch of weenies every day, but never more than when they complain about the Blue Angels!
What an idiot.They are gonna clobber him on this.
LOL
Looks like a seagull got in the way at the very start of the clip.
“Hello boys, I’m back!” One of my favorite movie lines.
I was there and couldn’t believe the stuff this guy was doing. My 14 year old son wanted to take the ride but it definitely was not normal.
Yeah, he thought that “Happy Hour Helicopters” was a little to obvious.
And “Drunk On My Ass Helicopters” was right out...
Interesting video but why isn’t it featured on that Emmy (or was it Oscar) winning thing of AlGore??? Yeah, when there is hot video to be seen, everyone rushes it to Current so the world can see. Whatwasthatyousaid? They DON’T??? YouTube? They post it to YouTube? Well, how come YouTube didn’t get the award instead?
OK, I admit, the headline catches the eye of a quick-scanning reader.
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