This is the Boeing Stearman McCay is charged with shooting at.
HAYDEN, AL (WBRC) -
A 36-year-old Hayden man let his temper get the best of him and now he is facing federal charges for shooting at an airplane.
Jason Allen McCay is accused of firing a gun at a historic biplane. That biplane was the subject of Fox6's Fred Hunter's Absolutely Alabama. On June 22 81-year-old
Fred Campbell, along with a friend, took up the renovated Boeing
Stearman Plane. Campbell has operated the Campbell Air Field since 1959.
He purchased and flew the historic plane back from Guatamala.
McCay had been involved in a feud with
Campbell over planes flying over his house which is directly across the
street from the private airport. Witnesses say they heard the shots the
day,
"Very stupid. Idiotic. They flew it. The guy took three or four shots at them. I didn't see the man do it but I heard the shots," Carlton Sloan said.
Thursday Morning members of the FBI's Joint
Terrorism Task Force, along with the Blount County Sheriff's Department,
arrested McCay. McCay has been charged with attempted destruction of
an aircraft which is a felony. McCay will appear at a detention hearing
Friday.
Campbell and his family did not want to
comment on the arrest but others are glad that McCay will not pose a
threat to the area in the future.
"If you shoot it straight up it's likely to
fall on somebody. If you shoot it horizontal you are liable to hit
someone. There is no point shooting at anything you don't want to hit,"
Sloan said
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A Hayden man has been arrested for shooting at a restored biplane flying over a private airfield beside the man's home.
Jason Allen McCay was arrested Thursday and charged with attempted destruction of an aircraft, according to U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.
The federal law makes it a felony to willfully interfere with or disable, with reckless disregard for the safety of human life, the authorized operation of any aircraft in the United States.
McCay, 36, was seen shooting a long-gun at a 1943 Boeing Stearman Biplane that was landing on Campbell Field, a private grass airstrip in Hayden, Ala., on June 22, according to the criminal complaint and affidavit filed against McCay.
McCay also attempted to damage, destroy, disable and wreck the plane, according the complaint.
The aircraft was being flown on tested flights over Campbell Field, which was built in 1963 by Fred Campbell, who owns the plane.
On the same day of shooting, about 20 witnesses were present at the field in celebration of the plane being restored to flight standards, according to the affidavit. Witness heard several gunshots as the plane was coming in for the landing on the third test flight of the day.
"As the aircraft made a bank and leveled out over the home of Jason McCay, McCay fired upon the aircraft with a long-gun," the affidavit states.
One witness, who was standing about 60 yards from McCay's house, said he saw McCay standing at a fence beside the airstrip with a weapon that looked like a shotgun. The witness said he watched McCay aim at the aircraft in flight and fire repeatedly, according to the affidavit.
McCay is scheduled to appear in a detention hearing on Friday morning.
http://www.sfgate.com
The federal law makes it a felony to willfully interfere with or disable, with reckless disregard for the safety of human life, the authorized operation of any aircraft in the United States.
McCay, 36, was seen shooting a long-gun at a 1943 Boeing Stearman Biplane that was landing on Campbell Field, a private grass airstrip in Hayden, Ala., on June 22, according to the criminal complaint and affidavit filed against McCay.
McCay also attempted to damage, destroy, disable and wreck the plane, according the complaint.
The aircraft was being flown on tested flights over Campbell Field, which was built in 1963 by Fred Campbell, who owns the plane.
On the same day of shooting, about 20 witnesses were present at the field in celebration of the plane being restored to flight standards, according to the affidavit. Witness heard several gunshots as the plane was coming in for the landing on the third test flight of the day.
"As the aircraft made a bank and leveled out over the home of Jason McCay, McCay fired upon the aircraft with a long-gun," the affidavit states.
One witness, who was standing about 60 yards from McCay's house, said he saw McCay standing at a fence beside the airstrip with a weapon that looked like a shotgun. The witness said he watched McCay aim at the aircraft in flight and fire repeatedly, according to the affidavit.
McCay is scheduled to appear in a detention hearing on Friday morning.
http://www.sfgate.com
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