Agency spokesman Allen Kenitzer declined to discuss any details of the probe, saying only that “the FAA is aware of this incident, and we are looking into it.”
While backers of the rival University of Oregon may have gotten a chuckle out of the stunt, fans of the OSU Beavers — especially the 25,000 or so new graduates and well-wishers attending the commencement exercises — were not amused.
The incident came in the midst of the keynote address by Ann Kiessling, a 1971 OSU grad who went on to become a leading biomedical researcher. Kiessling paused as the flyover sent a ripple of dismay through the crowd, then quickly recovered her poise, responding with a hearty “Go Beavs!” before resuming her talk while the plane continued to circle overhead.
“I think people were genuinely insulted, and actually embarrassed for people who support and root for the University of Oregon,” said OSU Vice President Steve Clark, a spokesman for the university.
“It wasn’t even the banner; it was flying over the stadium for five to seven minutes while people were celebrating and enjoying graduation,” Clark added. “It’s just unfortunate.”
The single-engine plane towing the banner did not appear to have any obvious markings, but it was quickly identified as belonging to Cascade Aero Banner, an Albany-based aerial advertising company owned by Pete Brawn.
An OSU alumnus himself, Brawn is a former Marine fighter pilot from Albany who left the service and started Cascade Aero after suffering severe injuries in a 2011 training accident that forced him to ditch his plane off the California coast.
He declined to be interviewed for this story, and so far he has not identified the person who hired him to fly the pro-Ducks banner over OSU’s graduation ceremony.
But his company’s Facebook page has been bombarded with comments — mostly negative, many openly hostile and some downright unprintable.
On Tuesday, however, Brawn posted a lengthy apology on the site, saying he showed bad judgment in accepting the job.
“We knew that the ‘Go Ducks !’ message would be controversial,” he wrote, “but we never imagined the depth of the offense our error in judgment has caused.”
That night he posted an addendum, announcing he would donate his $500 fee from “Saturday’s regrettable banner job” to Kiessling’s nonprofit scientific institute, the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation.
Oregon State also received an apology from University of Oregon President Michael Gottfredson, who called to express his regrets for the incident, Clark said.
As for Brawn, Clark said OSU has no plans to pursue any sort of legal action against him.
“We’re frustrated,” Clark acknowledged, “but we realize you can’t legislate tasteful behavior.”
Meanwhile, the FAA investigation continues.
It doesn’t appear that Brawn violated any laws by circling the stadium. According to Corvallis Municipal Airport manager Dan Mason, stadium officials can ask the agency to issue airspace restrictions for specific events, something that’s a matter of course for Beaver football games but apparently wasn’t done in this case.
“As far as I know, no notice was put out about graduation,” Mason said. “Otherwise, (pilots) can fly down to 1,000 feet over the city.”
It’s possible, however, that Brawn might have committed a breach of FAA regulations by covering up or failing to display the aircraft identification number on his plane. The agency’s rules stipulate that all aircraft must clearly display a unique ID number, although that section does not specify the penalties for violations.
The apology
My name is Pete Brawn and I own and operate Cascade Aero Banner, a small business I started prior to being medically retired from the USMC.
On Saturday June 14th, 2014 I carried out a banner towing job over Reeser Stadium during the 2014 Graduation Ceremony; the same Reeser Stadium where I received my diploma in 2001. We knew that the “Go Ducks !” message would be controversial, but we never imagined the depth of the offense our error in judgment has caused. In hindsight, we should never have accepted the job. I want to apologize to all those whom we have offended, for our part in Saturdays regrettable event. I especially want to apologize to Dr. Keissling for stepping on her speech and the disruption we caused. I will contact her personally and express my deep regret. It is my understanding that she handled the annoyance with remarkable grace and poise. We are very sorry for any annoyance or disruption that impacted those in the stadium, both graduates and their guests. Please accept my sincerest apology. We exercised poor judgment.
Posted on Cascade Aero Banner Facebook page Tuesday, June 17
As a gesture of our sincerity and genuine remorse, we are donating our $500 proceeds from Saturday’s regrettable banner job to The Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation, of which Dr. Kiessling is the director. This can’t possibly make up for our transgression, but it wouldn’t be right for us to keep the money. From what I’ve learned on the foundation's website, they will put the money to very good use.
Posted on Cascade Aero Banner Facebook page Wednesday, June 18
Story, photo gallery and comments: http://www.gazettetimes.com
Plane Owner Apologizes For Banner Prank
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a claim that the plane that interrupted Oregon State University’s commencement ceremony on Saturday had covered its tail number.
As of Wednesday, the FAA had not verified the claims, but says if true, it would be a violation of federal regulations. The administration says drivers need a visible license plate on their vehicles, as pilots need visible tail numbers on their airplanes. In the administration’s federal code of regulations, it says: “Each operator of an aircraft must display on that aircraft marks consisting of the Roman capital letter “N” (denoting United States registration) followed by the registration number of the aircraft.”
Cascade Aero Banner, an advertising service in Albany, was hired to fly a controversial banner over Oregon State University’s commencement Saturday. During the ceremony, a small plane flew over Reser Stadium towing a banner which read, “Go Ducks!”
Many in attendance said the plane was loud and distracting, and even forced the keynote speaker, Dr. Ann Kiessling, to stop her speech several times.
“It was super inappropriate,” said OSU student Bethany Matthews.
“At first it was kind of cool and funny – if they would have just flown off the first time,” said OSU graduate Linda Richards.
Instead, graduates say the plane circled around the stadium for 5-8 minutes.
“It was kind of disrespectful that they would fly that over our commencement speech,” said OSU student Brandon Gilyard.
The owner and operator of Cascade Aero Banner, Pete Brawn, posted a letter of apology on the company’s Facebook page Tuesday. In the letter, he said he regretted carrying out the towing job.
“We knew that the ‘Go Ducks!’ message would be controversial, but we never imagined the depth of the offense our error in judgment has caused,” Brawn said in his Facebook post.
The letter went on to state, “We are very sorry for any annoyance or disruption that impacted those in the stadium, both graduates and their guests. Please accept my sincerest apology. We exercised poor judgment.”
Oregon State students continue to speak out about the so-called prank, calling it disrespectful. Online, Facebook users made comments saying: “Some jobs are worth turning down,” or: “Sometimes apologies aren’t enough.”
Others say they appreciate Brawn’s apology.
“They should have had at least the professional sense not to do it in the first place,” Matthews said. “But it is very respectful of them to at least apologize for it.”
Oregon State University also says it accepts the company’s apology.
“We accept their apology; we wish this had never happened,” said Steve Clark, Vice President for University Relations and Marketing. “We enjoy good humor just as much as the next person. Yet this wasn’t just funny, it was disruptive and it was repetitive.”
Brawn made another Facebook post Tuesday evening, saying the company will be donating its $500 proceeds from Saturday to the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation, which Dr. Kiessling directs.
In the post, he says: “This can’t possibly make up for our transgression, but it wouldn’t be right for us to keep the money. From what I’ve learned on the foundation’s website, they will put the money to very good use.”
Brawn, nor anyone at Cascade Aero Banner’s Albany headquarters, was available to comment in person about the banner controversy. There is no word on who paid for the banner to be flown over the ceremony.
Click here to read the entire apology and response from Facebook users.
Source: http://www.kezi.com
Albany company takes heat for 'Go Ducks' sign at Oregon State commencement
A month ago, a post came across the Facebook page of Cascade Aero Banner -- an aerial advertising company.
"If just half of the attendees at this Oregon State Beavers game saw your aero banner," the post reads above a photo of Reser Stadium, "How would that effect (sic) your business?"
An aero banner flew across Reser on Saturday, and whether or not it was one of Cascade Aero Banner's, it has certainly affected the Albany-based business.
Since an airplane dragging a "Go Ducks" banner flew over the Oregon State commencement ceremonies on Saturday, angry Beavers have tagged Cascade as the culprit.
The company's Facebook page was pelted with enough angry comments that the page has since been deleted. Without that venue to fume, the onslaught has transitioned to Cascade's Yelp page, where they've accrued 11 one-star reviews since the flyby.
"Instead of one fly over, which may have been a pretty good joke, it was several minutes of loud buzzing, completely interrupting the ceremony and interfering with our invited keynote speaker," the reviewer Tina B. wrote. "It stopped the speech and then, when resumed, made it very difficult to hear. That is simply rude and in poor taste."
Multiple calls and e-mails to Cascade by The Oregonian were left unanswered.
While many have taken to the Yelp page and to various message boards to voice their displeasure with Cascade, several have come to the defense.
And one reviewer even figured Cascade would come out on the strong end of the banner seen around Corvallis.
"By the way, this isn't going to hurt their business," John S. wrote after leaving a five-star review. "If anything it's gonna cause more publicity and more business."
Story, photo gallery and comments: http://www.oregonlive.com
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