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FAA Says It Had Warned of Restricted Airspace

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Times Staff Writer

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it issued an advisory warning pilots to avoid a restricted airspace over President Reagan’s Bel-Air Estates home and that a Riverside County pilot who strayed into the area should have had access to the information.

The FAA is investigating the apparent breach of restricted airspace that occurred Wednesday while the Reagans visited their residence at 668 St. Cloud Road in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles.

Pilot Doug Davis of Rubidoux, who acknowledges flying over the area, was briefly detained by Orange County sheriff’s officials and then questioned by U.S. Secret Service agents after he was ordered to land his plane at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

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Davis says he “unwittingly” violated the restriction when he flew his Cessna Skylane 182 over the area because he was not told it was off-limits.

“This is a foul-up of the FAA,” Davis said Friday. “They did not notify pilots (about the restriction) as they should have.”

Issued Wednesday

But an FAA official in Los Angeles said Friday that the advisory was issued Wednesday, the same day Davis entered the restricted airspace. The advisory was suspended Thursday, when the Reagans left Bel-Air. The restrictions are imposed only when the Reagans are in residence, the official said.

Davis, 43, a pilot for a San Bernardino company that takes pictures of construction sites and does aerial mapping, said he flew out of Fla-Bob Airport near Riverside about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

He said two employees from his office contacted flight services officials at Riverside-Arlington Airport before the trip to file flight plans and to check on any advisories or restrictions.

Such advisories are issued by the FAA and are usually given verbally to pilots by the air traffic control tower or flight services personnel.

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Davis said he and his crew received no such warnings. He added that he has checked with Riverside flight services officials since the incident and has found no evidence of the advisory.

However, an FAA duty officer in Los Angeles who declined to give his name said Riverside flight services had confirmed that an advisory was received at the station and that it had “routinely been issued to pilots” who were flying in the Los Angeles area.

The duty officer said he was not able to confirm that the advisory was passed along to Davis. But an FAA official said it is the pilot’s responsibility to “determine if there is any restricted space where he will be flying.”

A spokesman for the Secret Service, which had ordered Davis detained, said that although the pilot “obviously violated restricted airspace,” no charges would be filed against him.

Will Press Investigation

However, an FAA spokesman said that agency will press its investigation of the incident to determine if any FAA regulations were violated. FAA spokesman Fred O’Donnell said one element of the investigation, expected to conclude next week, will consider whether “proper notification was given” to the pilot.

Davis, meanwhile, who told reporters that he was “roughed up” by an Orange County sheriff’s deputy while being held for questioning after the incident, said Friday he will file a complaint against the officer.

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Davis said he had to receive emergency treatment at College Hospital in Costa Mesa for torn muscles in his shoulder. A hospital spokesman said Friday that no information about Davis’ treatment could be released because of privacy concerns.

A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department has denied any mistreatment and said Davis failed to cooperate with the officers who detained him.

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