Air Force: Iowa game flyover was too low - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Air Force: Iowa game flyover was too low

The Air Force is considering disciplinary action against four pilots who participated in a T-38 flyover before a University of Iowa football game in November.

Air Force spokeswoman 1st Lt. Katie Roling told Air Force Times on Thursday that the Air Force completed the commander-directed investigation Dec. 20 and turned the results over to Col. Russell Mack, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base, Okla.

The pilots, from the wing’s 25th Flying Training Squadron at Vance, are Maj. Chris Kopacek, 1st Lt. Otto Gerdeman, Maj. Eric Yape and Maj. Kevin Cossey. They could face disciplinary action that includes Article 15 nonjudicial sanctions or an Article 32 hearing that could lead to a court martial, Roling said.

Roling had told The Associated Press on Thursday that officials would take action against the pilots, but later she said she was mistaken and that it wasn't clear whether the pilots would be disciplined. That decision will come later.

Kopacek told the Des Moines (Iowa) Register in December that the pilots had clearance to fly at an altitude of 500 feet.

Spectators posted videos of the event on YouTube, and the pilots were later introduced during the game.

A review of video and Kinnick Stadium’s dimensions by The Associated Press found the jets flew at a fraction of the minimum altitude required before Iowa played Ohio State in Iowa City on Nov. 20.

Under Air Force regulations, the jets must have an altitude of at least 1,000 feet when flying over populated areas. The jets appeared to be slightly above the top of the press box, which is 137 feet above ground.

Roling told The Register permission was never granted to fly lower than 1,000 feet above the ground. She said that permission would require a waiver by the Federal Aviation Administration and approval from an Air Force official.