Santa Barbara pilot Dave Mathews was arrested for flying his plane over the fairgrounds in Ventura during a horse race without permission. Actually, that was not an accurate description of the complaint. He didn’t just do a fly-over, he flew over at a low altitude and dropped a bunch of flyers. (It wasn’t mentioned what was printed on the flyers, but it was probably an ad for his flying business.) The racetrack officials were concerned that papers falling from the heavens might scare the horses.
[Spoiler alert – the case was later dismissed. “A Supreme Court decision, holding that while a man holds property to the center of the earth, his right to the air extends only as far as his building, was presented to the district attorney.” Mathews died in a plane crash in Santa Barbara just a year later.]
Santa Barbara pilot Earl Ovington was also arrested on a similar charge for doing aerial advertising and flying too low over the grandstand at the Ventura County Fair. His charge was also dismissed.
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