Wednesday, October 10, 2001

This is going too far.

As a professional pilot, I cannot condone the acts of the teen pilot and his instructor [charged with buzzing the Fayette County Fair], but I do call in question the magnitude of this case.

Prior to the events of Sept. 11, these two pilots would have received a letter of investigation from the FAA and would most likely have had their pilot certificates suspended for a short time. They would have then been able to continue with their aviation aspirations after reinstatement.

There would have been no media, no felony charges, no young lives destroyed for showing off a little. This sound more like a political play by some officials on the heels of a national tragedy.

Bryan Patterson

Peachtree City

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