The Region : Man Held as Drunk Flier

Police officers who watched a small plane weave, circle and almost crash near the Hawthorne Municipal Airport arrested the pilot on suspicion of drunken flying when he finally landed, authorities said. Hawthorne officers first noticed the plane, a 1946 Globe Swift, as it appeared to be having trouble landing at the airport, Sgt. Arvid Krueger said. “It almost crashed several times, circled the airport a few times and somehow eventually landed,” Krueger said. Officers gave the pilot, Robert Springer of Marina del Rey, a field sobriety test and arrested and booked him under a vehicle code section that prohibits flying while intoxicated, Krueger said. Springer, reached later by phone, said “their (the police’s) story is way overstated. We’ll just have to see what the outcome is.”