Narrative:

On the evening of oct/tue/01, I took my C185 out for the first flight since the attack of sep/tue/01. I flew over my town of fountain hills, az, that has a population of approximately 20000. I circled my friend's house, my house, and the town fountain. Because it was getting dark, I stayed basically over town to avoid higher terrain in the area. I paid particular attention to my altitude to make sure I was at least 1000 ft above the surface. I flew for about 30 mins and after landing at falcon field, ground control asked me to call scottsdale ATCT. The tower controller asked if I had been flying over fountain hills and I said 'yes.' he then asked if I was at a low altitude and I said 'absolutely no.' he told me that the sheriff's department called the FAA in lax about a low flying aircraft that was circling fountain hills. The FAA then called scottsdale tower to investigate. He took my name, address, telephone number, and n-number. Later I called the sheriff's office and talked to the dispatcher. She said they received several calls about a low flying airplane circling the town. She said that the concern of the callers was not the low altitude, but that maybe it was a spy plane dropping something like anthrax. I called the scottsdale tower again and told him what the dispatcher had said. He apologized because he didn't think I had done anything wrong, but he had to file a report to the local FSDO because he was asked to do so by the FAA.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C185 PLT FLEW SEVERAL CIRCLES OVER RESIDENTIAL AREA AT 1000 FT AGL RESULTING IN SEVERAL PUBLIC COMPLAINTS REGARDING A POSSIBLE CHEMICAL SPRAY.

Narrative: ON THE EVENING OF OCT/TUE/01, I TOOK MY C185 OUT FOR THE FIRST FLT SINCE THE ATTACK OF SEP/TUE/01. I FLEW OVER MY TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ, THAT HAS A POPULATION OF APPROX 20000. I CIRCLED MY FRIEND'S HOUSE, MY HOUSE, AND THE TOWN FOUNTAIN. BECAUSE IT WAS GETTING DARK, I STAYED BASICALLY OVER TOWN TO AVOID HIGHER TERRAIN IN THE AREA. I PAID PARTICULAR ATTN TO MY ALT TO MAKE SURE I WAS AT LEAST 1000 FT ABOVE THE SURFACE. I FLEW FOR ABOUT 30 MINS AND AFTER LNDG AT FALCON FIELD, GND CTL ASKED ME TO CALL SCOTTSDALE ATCT. THE TWR CTLR ASKED IF I HAD BEEN FLYING OVER FOUNTAIN HILLS AND I SAID 'YES.' HE THEN ASKED IF I WAS AT A LOW ALT AND I SAID 'ABSOLUTELY NO.' HE TOLD ME THAT THE SHERIFF'S DEPT CALLED THE FAA IN LAX ABOUT A LOW FLYING ACFT THAT WAS CIRCLING FOUNTAIN HILLS. THE FAA THEN CALLED SCOTTSDALE TWR TO INVESTIGATE. HE TOOK MY NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, AND N-NUMBER. LATER I CALLED THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND TALKED TO THE DISPATCHER. SHE SAID THEY RECEIVED SEVERAL CALLS ABOUT A LOW FLYING AIRPLANE CIRCLING THE TOWN. SHE SAID THAT THE CONCERN OF THE CALLERS WAS NOT THE LOW ALT, BUT THAT MAYBE IT WAS A SPY PLANE DROPPING SOMETHING LIKE ANTHRAX. I CALLED THE SCOTTSDALE TWR AGAIN AND TOLD HIM WHAT THE DISPATCHER HAD SAID. HE APOLOGIZED BECAUSE HE DIDN'T THINK I HAD DONE ANYTHING WRONG, BUT HE HAD TO FILE A RPT TO THE LCL FSDO BECAUSE HE WAS ASKED TO DO SO BY THE FAA.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.