Pilot of Plane That Buzzed Tiger Stadium Grounded

The pilot and co-pilot of a Lear jet that swooped low over Tiger Stadium with a boom that frightened players and fans have been grounded temporarily by their company, officials said Wednesday.

The twin-engine jet, owned by Bard Air Corp., based at City Airport in Detroit, was returning without passengers from St. Louis when it disrupted Tuesday night’s game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals, officials said.

“We have identified it as a Lear 23,” said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman David Hobgood at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti. “We have identified the plane and the pilot involved.”

The crew members were taken off Bard’s flight roster until the FAA completes its investigation of the incident, said Bard corporate secretary Judy Page.

Bard and FAA officials would not identify the crew members.

Chicago FAA spokeswoman Marjorie Kriz, said: “All we can tell you right now is that it’s under investigation.” Detroit police spokesman Wayne Roberts said he had no information on the overflight but said the department has no authority in the matter because of the FAA’s exclusive jurisdiction.

The game was in the top of the sixth inning just before 10 p.m., when the plane, jet engines flaming, roared over the stadium and its 34,261 spectators.

“It scared the devil out of me,” Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson said after the game. “I thought it was crashing into the stadium.”