The pilot never had a chance. He was flying a 1942 biplane when he was intercepted by an F-15 fighter jet. In terrestrial terms it’s like a Model-T Ford taking on an M1A1 tank. The problem was that he had violated a temporary 30-mile no-fly zone put in place during President Obama’s visit to LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View. “Dang, that looks like Top Gun,” said County Sheriff Phil Wowak, who happened to witness the incident.
The pilot never had a chance. He was flying a 1942 biplane when he was intercepted by an F-15 fighter jet. In terrestrial terms it’s like a Model-T Ford taking on an M1A1 tank. The problem was that he had violated a temporary 30-mile no-fly zone put in place during President Obama’s visit to LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View. “Dang, that looks like Top Gun,” said County Sheriff Phil Wowak, who happened to witness the incident.
It was one of four intercepts that occurred during the President’s visit to the Bay Area earlier this week. Though Watsonville Municipal Airport issued email warnings to pilots about the restricted area, Interim Manager Rayvon Williams said that it is not uncommon for pilots to forget to check the latest notices.
The biplane belongs to John Bernard of San Francisco, but it is unclear whether he was piloting it at the time of the incident. Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
