ORIGINAL: FTiano

You know, I owe many of you an apology! I was truly under the impression that all of us knew exactly what precipitated the jet event closures and were just afraid to come out and say it!

So for those who have been in the dark or have been guessing, please let me take this minute to explain, in abbreviated form, what happened.

There was a jet event taking place, for arguments sake, it was west of the Mississippi river. It was being held at a small airport. One of the Pilots that hangers an aircraft there needed to, wanted to, or otherwise was asked to, fly somewhere else. When he asked the CD/Promoter of the Jet event if he could interrupt the event so he could take-off, the response was an emphatic "NO"! After going back and forth, the Promoter just wouldn't budge. The end result is that the Pilot went to a friend in government, someone who had a friend at the FAA, and put in a *****. From what I understand, and this may NOT be exact, the Promoters were given a second chance to smooth things over and they kept their snotty attitude and blew off the dude trying to act as the mediator! Bottom line is that the FAA looked into a ploicy that has been on the books for years and decided that perhaps it was time to enforce it. That's it, Period! And that is the truth. Hope that clears some of the mystery up for some of you. Truth sometimes hurts, this time it is almost unbelievable!

FT