Found this article on Landings.com (from Anchorage Daily News):
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Plane skimming Knik River trips on sandbar
FINES POSSIBLE: FAA says pilot had no license, medical certification.
By JAMES HALPIN
[email protected]
Published: April 30th, 2009 11:13 PM
Last Modified: April 30th, 2009 11:13 PM
An ill-fated aerial water-skiing performance on the Knik River drainage last weekend ended abruptly when the aircraft smacked face down in the mud, damaging the plane and placing the unlicensed pilot under the scrutiny of federal aviation officials.

The Piper PA-18-135, piloted by Edwin A. Stoltenberg, 26, was seen repeatedly swooping down to the water and skimming the surface with the aircraft's wheels, trying to "water ski" across it, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.

The aircraft's tundra tires grazed the water smoothly for several hundred feet on each of five or six touch-and-goes, but caught on a sandbar during the final run, tripping the aircraft and sending it nose down into shallow water at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the report says.

The airplane, owned by Stoltenberg's father, sustained damage to its left wing lift strut, fuselage and rudder, the report says.

"There was obviously no injuries or anything, so it was a pretty minor accident," NTSB investigator Clint Johnson said. "But once we got into it, it was just like, 'Holy smokes!' "

The practice is called water-skiing, and it is not encouraged, said Howard Martin, regional counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration. It was developed for landing in tight quarters, like sand bars where space is short, he said, but doing it wrong can be disastrous.

"This isn't a real normal procedure for landing," Martin said. "There's a few people that's developed this, and he may have well been trying to show the skill off to people out there when it happened."

After Stoltenberg's plane went down, a witness came over to see if he was OK. In response, Stoltenberg said, "Don't call the cops," according to the report. A group of Stoltenberg's friends soon showed up and turned the aircraft right-side-up with an all-terrain vehicle, then towed it to trees and brush to try hiding it, the report says.

They and Stoltenberg, who has neither a pilot's license nor a required medical certificate, disappeared by the time Alaska State Troopers arrived. He later returned to fly his father's battered plane home from the crash site about six miles south of Palmer, the report says.

"That's another interesting little twist," Johnson said. "He basically flew a bent airplane home."

Stoltenberg told the NTSB that the accident took place after he had successfully landed on the mudflats. He said he was a student pilot with a required medical certificate, and that as he was turning the aircraft to taxi, a gust of wind lifted its tail and caused it to nose over, according to the report.

But Stoltenberg had neither a current medical certificate nor a student pilot's certificate, the report said. The FAA administratively denied Stoltenberg's third-class medical certificate on Aug. 1, 2008, because of three driving under the influence convictions he had racked up inside 10 years, the report says. On Aug. 30 that year, he was charged with a fourth, felony DUI.

There was, however, no indication that alcohol was a factor in the plane episode, officials said.

"DUI laws do apply to airplanes," troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. "In this situation, the pilot was not on scene, there was nothing at the scene to show that the guy was DUI. There might be some suspicion based on some other stuff, but we've deferred the incident to the NTSB, which has powers broader than ours in this kind of situation."

Although there was no indication of criminal activity, the FAA is investigating a number of regulatory violations, including the lack of a pilot's certificate, Martin said.

"Normally we would either revoke or suspend that," he said. "But when someone doesn't have certificates, we've got a couple options. One is we do a fine action against him."

Officials could also get an injunction to keep Stoltenberg from flying, he said.

A message left at a Mat-Su listing for Stoltenberg's father was not returned Thursday.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.
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ASW

Sounds like we need to find out his shirt size, so Zane can send him one

Not only was he busted for what he was doing , apparently a bystander got a cell phone video of him doing it ........ That was shown on the news last night. Now let's see him deny it was him in the cockpit......

I guess the moral of the story is: If you're going to wad a plane while hydroplaning without a pilot certificate or current medical, you should do it in a Part 103 compliant ultralight.

Or maybe is dad should have hit him in the head and fed the milk to a good hunting dog

I guess the moral of the story is: Do what ever you want. Be man enough to face the consequences. Don't forget to have enough dollars for your lawyer and the fines.

Like in the Forrest Gump movie. Mommy says Stupid is as stupid does

RobBurson wrote:I guess the moral of the story is: Do what ever you want. Be man enough to face the consequences. Don't forget to have enough dollars for your lawyer and the fines.

Like in the Forrest Gump movie. Mommy says Stupid is as stupid does

I agree no harm to others, no foul. Oh, wait...50 yrs to late for that approach.
The kid does deserve a BCP shirt, not sure if it should be before or after the 'ol man kicks his @$$.
The little b@$&ard that turned him in needs his @$$... well, I won't go there.
Times are changing, everyone has a cell phone with a camera now days and are quick to spill their guts.

RobBurson wrote:I guess the moral of the story is: Do what ever you want. Be man enough to face the consequences. Don't forget to have enough dollars for your lawyer and the fines.

Like in the Forrest Gump movie. Mommy says Stupid is as stupid does

Which reminds me I have to send in my check for my Idaho speeding ticket I got last week.

Did anybody else notice that he was 26 years old and had FOUR DUI's! In Alaska no less where there's one cop for every what... several thousand sq miles? Sounds like this guy was already a pro at drawing negative attention to himself. The only thing that could have made this article worse or better depending on how you see it is if the wing would have fell off on his flight back home.

He probably said......" here, hold my beer, Watch This!"

FOUR DUI's, he had no choice but to fly, his driving days are probably over with for awhile.

So should have been his flying days, he was denied a medical certificate because of the DUI's. Bet he doesn't have a valid drivers liscense either so Light Sport isn't even an option.

Phil