24-year-old pilot who landed on Queens beach kept joking to JFK air traffic controllers: recordings
Tuesday, April 5th 2011, 7:15 PM
Egan-Chin/News
Pilot Jason Maloney landed his plane on a Rockways beach late Monday.
Iudici for News
Maloney is released from police precinct early Tuesday after questioning.The airhead pilot who splashed down on a Rockaways beach Monday night landed a slew of one-liners to flight officials before his dramatic descent.
"Just let us know if we're up in your grill," Jason Maloney, 24, radioed to an air-traffic controller minutes before his single-propeller plane's emergency landing, according to an audio recording of the interaction.
In the recording, the flyboy blathers on as he joyrides over the city after taking off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, L.I.
Maloney first asks for permission for an impromptu landing at Kennedy Airport, saying he's on a "medical mission."
An air-traffic controller rebuffs his request, but the pilot later follows up with another doozy.
"Hey tower, I got a question for you," Maloney says. "This might be crazy but are we allowed to land on the beach?"
The air traffic controller tells him a public beach landing would only be allowed in an emergency.
"You know what tower?" Maloney responds cheerfully. "My engine might be running a little teensy teensy bit rough."
"Do you require any assistance?" the concerned air traffic controller then asks.
"No," the puzzling pilot responds. "You know what, we should be fine, but I'm gonna make a precautionary landing."
Maloney then did just that, drawing a police response that included aviation and boats. The single-engine plane had to be towed from the surf.
The pilot and his passengers - Clarke Oler, 22, and Chelsea Protter, 21, both of Huntington, L.I. - were uninjured and were not hospitalized, officials said. But Protter threw up on the beach.
"I was feeling sick. I was feeling nauseous," Protter told the Daily News on Tuesday night.
She denied knowing why Maloney sat the plane down on the beach. "As I told the detectives and everybody, I was just focused on me. I don't know," Protter said.
Maloney didn't appear intoxicated and was not tested for drugs or alcohol, police sources said. No criminal charges are expected.
A Federal Aviation Administration investigation could lead to Maloney's pilot certificate being suspended or revoked, and he could be fined.
Investigators are examining the plane for mechanical problems, an FAA spokesperson said.
Maloney was grounded Tuesday in his parents' home in Cornwall, N.Y. His father barred him from speaking to reporters.
"The FAA still has to complete their investigation, so I'd rather him not talk," said John Maloney, 58. "There was someone sick and he felt that that was the proper thing to do to get help."
With Kerry Wills
Audio courtesy of LiveATC.net
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/04/05/2011-04-05_24yearold_pilot_who_landed_on_queens_beach_kept_joking_to_jfk_air_traffic_contro.html#ixzz1Immqw5eE
No comments:
Post a Comment