Local News in Brief : Pilot Questioned After Encino Area Is Buzzed
Federal Aviation Agency investigators and Van Nuys Airport police questioned the pilot of a light plane that witnesses said repeatedly buzzed an Encino neighborhood just before noon Friday, the FAA reported.
The pilot, who was not identified, conceded that he had flown over the area but denied flying too low, an FAA spokesman said.
“The investigation is continuing while we take statements from witnesses,” said FAA inspector Mike Spencer.
At least six persons called the Van Nuys Airport tower, the FAA or the Los Angeles Police Department to report the plane flying over the hillside neighborhood around the Encino Reservoir, Spencer said.
The acting chief of the control tower, Jerry Mobe, said that controllers, responding to the calls, saw the plane from the tower with binoculars and that it appeared to be “down in the treetops.” It is about six miles from the tower to the reservoir.
Witnesses reported the registration number on the plane’s wing to the FAA. Investigators traced it to a plane based at Van Nuys, the FAA said, and airport police and FAA investigators met the craft when it landed.
It is a violation of FAA regulations to fly less than 1,000 feet over a populated area except when landing or taking off.
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