Local News in Brief : Reckless-Flying Ticket Given Pilot for Stunts Over Boulevard

A pilot who performed aerial stunts above Ventura Boulevard in Encino on Tuesday afternoon was cited for reckless flying, Los Angeles police said.

Officers in two police helicopters sent to observe the plane piloted by Robert Quarterman, 25, of North Hollywood, saw it flying upside-down over the bustling boulevard, Sgt. Ron Hansen said. Police have asked the city attorney’s office to consider filing misdemeanor charges against Quarterman, who is an airline mechanic, Hansen said.

The preliminary investigation, he said, found that Quarterman was trying to impress a friend who lived near the boulevard. “He wanted to show his friend that he could do stunts,” Hansen said.

FBI agents spotted the single-engine Champion, which the Continental Airlines mechanic had rented in Van Nuys, about 500 feet above the freeway sometime after 3 p.m. and notified aviation authorities, who tracked the plane on radar and sent the helicopters, Hansen said.

After performing the aerobatic maneuvers, Quarterman flew to the Malibu area before returning to Van Nuys, he said. Police, who earlier had kept their distance from his plane for safety reasons, met him there on the ground, Hansen said.

Quarterman ventured illegally into Los Angeles International Airport’s terminal control area as well as restricted airspace above Ventura Boulevard, Hansen said.

The Federal Aviation Administration also is investigating the incident, an FAA spokesman said. The FAA requires pilots to fly at least 1,000 feet above populated areas.

In a telephone interview, Quarterman said Tuesday evening that he was unaware of this limit and did not know he had flown into restricted airspace. He also said he merely circled his friend’s home near Ventura Boulevard several times before flying to the Malibu Canyon area to perform aerial stunts. He said he has been licensed to fly since 1983.

“I’m sorry this happened,” Quarterman said. “If I had it to do over again, I never would have done it.”