by Andy Newman, New York Times
Two private planes flying illegally low over the bridge that connects Brooklyn to the Rockaways were pursued by New York police helicopters for a half-hour yesterday evening after they failed to respond to signals and one of them appeared to fly directly at one of the helicopters, the authorities said.
The planes, which belong to a banner-towing company, landed at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township, N.J., about 30 miles from the Marine Parkway Bridge, where they first attracted police attention, the authorities said. The pilots were being questioned last night by the joint terrorism task force.
The incident began at 6:40 p.m. when a police helicopter on patrol noticed the two single-engine planes, a Piper Arrow and a Cessna, about 50 feet above the Marine Parkway Bridge, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The minimum altitude in that airspace is 400 feet, said Sgt. Vincent Gravelli, a police spokesman. The pilots did not respond when the police helicopter signaled them, Mr. Peters said, and according to an aviation official, one of the two planes appeared to fly directly at the helicopter, forcing the helicopter pilot to make an evasive maneuver.
The helicopter called for back-up, and soon three helicopters were pursuing the two planes, the aviation official said. Two F-16’s on air patrol for the North American Aerospace Defense Command were also alerted and dropped down several thousand feet but did not chase the planes, the official said.
The planes landed at Monmouth Executive Airport, a medium-size airport in Monmouth County, N.J. where the banner-towing company, Aerial Sign Corporation, has an office, Mr. Peters said.
The planes were not towing banners when the incident took place.
The two pilots, Andre Morais, of Florida, and Daniel Oliverso, were being questioned by federal officials last night, Mr. Peters said.
No one answered the phone at the Aerial Sign Corporation last night. One of the company’s planes was involved in a fatal accident at the airport on Monday, when it turned right shortly after takeoff, cartwheeled and exploded.