1942 Boeing Stearman: Pilot violates airspace for Obama visit, gets intercepted by military jet

Robyn Marshall

This is a photo of an unexpected flyover in Watsonville Monday.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — A local pilot got a loud military reminder about presidential security Monday afternoon, after he violated a temporary no-fly zone triggered by President Barack Obama’s visit to the San Francisco Bay Area.

People near downtown Santa Cruz and the harbor were treated to an aerial exhibition that the pilot of a small 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane would probably rather not have been a part of. With a top speed that barely cracks freeway speed limits, the vintage plane was circled several times by an F-15 fighter jet enforcing a 30-mile restricted zone as Obama visited the Silicon Valley company LinkedIn.

“I just heard this huge roar. I’ve never heard anything like that from an airplane,” said Conan Knoll, who was at home near the harbor around noon when he heard the ruckus. Several local residents witnessed the encounter, which apparently took place near the shore at a low altitude. The pilot quickly scurried back to Watsonville, where the plane landed safely.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak was also a witness, picking up the fighter as it was streaking to the scene.

“I see this thing coming at me and I said, ‘Dang, that looks like Top Gun,’ ” Wowak said. The Stearman is registered to John Bernard of San Francisco. When reached, Bernard said he doesn’t know what happened. “I don’t know anything about this incident,” said Bernard, who did not indicate whether he was flying the plane during a brief phone interview.

The plane’s other listed owner could not be reached. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregory said the pilot faces a license suspension. A spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command said it was one of four intercepts coinciding with Obama’s visit.

Watsonville Municipal Airport Interim Manager Rayvon Williams said the situation is not totally uncommon, particularly on the East Coast. As a general aviation airport, Watsonville-based pilots don’t typically file flight plans, but they are supposed to make a preflight check of notices that would alert them to temporary flight restrictions. Williams said the airport is proactive in trying to alert pilots through email and other means, but it’s difficult to make sure everyone gets the message.

“The reality is, pilots get lazy from time to time” and don’t check the notices, said Williams, who also witnessed the incident. Military aircraft and scheduled commercial flights are allowed in restricted air zones. Private pilots may fly in the outer zones of a restricted area if they file a flight plan, but the Stearman pilot apparently did not. Obama visited the Bay Area to raise money and tout his jobs plan at LinkedIn, the popular professional networking site.

NORAD spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Humphreys said the F-15 was already “on station,” meaning it was in the air when dispatched to Santa Cruz. He did not say where the jet was based, and some details are kept secret for security reasons. “I can tell you that we did intercept,” Humphreys said.

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