Airplanes West of Hutchinson?

[daydreamer]

Anyone ever have any issues with airplanes flying very very low while out hunting? At first I thought this was a conservation officer making the rounds and I think it might have been last year but this year was a different plane.

I was out waterfowl hunting on Saturday and a plane flew over numerous times at about the tree top level and then proceeded to fly all around the area staying at about 50 feet off the ground the whole time. The reason why I don't think it was a CO is that at certain times I felt it was operating at a dangerous level while doing almost stunt like turns. The last I saw him was about 5 minutes before sunset while birds are flooding into the lake. That's the last thing I wanted to worry about at the time.

Anyone ever have this happen to them out in that area?

[hanson]

Not in that area but my dad and brother were goose hunting in a field up north when an ultralight aircraft buzzed them at low altitude a couple times. They weren't quite sure what he was doing but my brother had to stand up and wave his arms in the air and he took off out of there.

I'm not sure what you can do other than to get the number off of the side of the plane and make some friendly phone calls to local enforcement. The numbers on planes are big and always start with N so you should be able to see it with binocs.

[Gissert]

If you feel the aircraft is operating in an unsafe or reckless manner, do not be shy about calling the FAA.

If is that low, try and get a registration number, along with a description of the aircraft it self - ie high or low wing, color, etc.

[daydreamer]

Darn, I was too focused on the green heads to get the registration number off the side of the plane.

[poutpro]

Had the same thing happen last night. It started with one plane, then there were two of them flying over. Still ended up with 8 mallards for 2 of us though, so they didn't hurt us.

[airdriver]

I depends on what they are doing. Training requires low flights with reguard to objects on the ground ie ground reference manuavers. BUT, ifi the a/c is above tree top level, that is illegal under most cases. Try to get reg. number off rear side of a/c, also see pre post for type and color. Finally, note where you are, if poss. where from closest airport. Look under faa.gov or blue pages for msp flight standards district office (fisdo) they will be able to take it from there. But, I don't think anything will happen from it. Unlesss you get video. BAd pilots bad hunters both groups have them, both groups wish they would just go away.

[OUTDOORNUT]

I use to field hunt just south of the Hutch Airport and I swore we had planes that would head off flocks of geese coming our way, numerous times. I stopped hunting there just for that reason alone. You'll never have much of an agrument with the FAA if your anywhere near the Airport itself though. We did have a Skydiver fall way off course once and landed just outside our decoys, it was a pretty good NW wind and when he hit the ground his chute caught the wind and almost drug him right onto HWY 15. Needless to say we weren't about to help this guy out after he messed up a good part of our hunt.

[fish4cats]

It has happened to us numerous times around Hutchinson. I have been hunting Hutch for about 20 years and it has always been a problem, even if you are miles from the airport. I am convinced they are anti-hunters. We have had them come as close as 100 yards!! Yikes!!

[Scott M]

Yeah, I had that problem last weekend too. The worst was when we had a flock of geese coming straight on, and I couldn't hear myself call because the plane was herding the birds like a sheep dog. I was on one of the little lakes on the south side of Hutch.

[Kodiak]

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[Gissert]

If you observe this behavior, call the DNR TIP line 1-800-652-9093 AND contact the Minneapolis FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) 612-713-4211.

Operation of an aircraft in a reckless manner is illegal, as is hunter harassment. If you can get video of the actions, all the better.

Do not even jokingly point a weapon at any aircraft. This could get you big trouble - felony. Most aircraft have VHF transceivers, and any radio call from an aircraft stating that guns are being pointed at them WILL get you cuffed and stuffed in a big hurry.

It seems like there is a pattern of operation here. Best let the proper authorities stop it before this guy stalls out in a turn and spins it into the dirt.

[Ufatz]

I wonder if we don't have a misunderstanding here. Airplanes using a controlled airport runway are required to fly a certain pattern...downwind leg, base leg, final leg etc. They often execute a series of what are called touch-and-goes, repeated take offs and landings. They can also perform various maneuvers within the airport control zone. But in most ALL cases these must be done ABOVE the minimum altitude for the airport, usually 800'. Are hunters misinterpreting what the aircraft are doing? I'm not picking on you guys-just suggesting something. Could be they are totally unaware of what affect their actions have on your hunting. My guess would be that most pilots would cheer you for driving birds, especially geese, away from runways. There have been some deadly crashes resulting from bird-aircraft strikes. Just something to consider.

Clear.

[daydreamer]

Ufatz, I'm about 10 miles west of the Hutchinson airport while hunting so those action you speak of aren't taking place that far from the airport. I've seen touch and go's before and that was not what this person was doing. He was at tree top level numerous times in my area and I'm surprised he didn't take down any power lines...I'll know next time to get the number off the side of the plane. Thanks for the responses

[Ufatz]

Okay. If thats the case, and he continues to fly low and slow, the problem may solve itself! If you get my drift. HA!