Tiger banner was a boon for airplane ad company

By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The owner of an aerial advertising company said he expected trouble after one of his planes towed two banners mocking the embattled Tiger Woods but he was surprised at how much.

Yet, his business has taken off.

"I'm just hired to do other people's ideas," said Jim Miller, owner of Air America Aerial Ads in Genoa, Ohio. “But it increased my business.

"I had envisioned there would be a lot of heat, but not this much."

Even as the Federal Aviation Administration was grounding his plane, Miller said, “I had people willing to contribute” to the cost of flying more banners over Augusta National while Tiger Woods was playing in the Masters.

Miller declined to say how much the operation cost but he confirmed that the regular charge was $1,200 an hour plus expenses.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told the AJC the mechanical problems involved several missing screws and  loose fasteners on the engine covering, or cowling.

Miller doesn't believe that explanation.

“We were shut down on a bogus reason,” Miller told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.

Bergen said the reasons were legitimate and serious.

"The FAA's findings were not bogus," Bergen said. "Missing and loose screws and fasteners on the engine cowling and an illegible seat-belt tag issue prompted the FAA to post a condition notice on the Cessna 150. If the screws or fasteners failed, the cowling could have fallen into the crowd or resulted in a situation that required an emergency landing in a congested area -- the golf course or the surrounding area."

Only two of the planned six banners got off the ground before the FAA grounded the plane.

Miller declined to say what the other four messages would have been, but a plane that flew over Augusta Tuesday, two days after the Masters ended, towed banners with two of them.

“Tiger: Still on for 4some? Jesse James”(the estranged husband of actress Sandra Bullock), one read.

Miller confirmed that was to have been the final banner his plane was hired to tow.

The second message was, “You knew Stevie. You knew.” Steve Williams, Woods’ caddy, had said he knew nothing of the golfer’s extramarital affairs that became public just after Thanksgiving last year when Woods crashed his SUV in front of his house in Florida.

Miller did not know what company was hired to fly Tuesday but he said it wasn’t his.

Bergen said the agency inspected Miller's plane last Thursday evening, a few hours after its second flight, and discovered problems that would make it unsafe to fly over a crowd like the one at Augusta National. But the plane was safe enough to fly back to Ohio as long as only the pilot was on board and the only stops were for fuel.

"The aircraft operator elected to fly back to Ohio," Bergen said. "He could have had the aircraft repaired locally, at his discretion. The ferry permit that authorized the flight back to Ohio required the flight to be in clear weather and during the day only. The flight was required to avoid congested areas. This demonstrates that the discrepancies were minor, yet could have posed a risk if failure occurred over a congested area."

Bergen said last week the banner towing over Augusta National last Thursday was a first for the Masters. It’s a common practice, however, at sporting events, outdoor concerts and at the beach.

Bergen said the tower at the regional airport in Augusta had expressed concerns about the plane flying over so many people and that prompted the inspection. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said it had contacted the FAA.

Bergen has said the plane was ground only because of safety concerns. “We don’t have any restrictions over the Masters,” Bergen said. “We don’t restrict flights for celebrity events. We had no issue with the conduct of the flight.”

Miller said the “minor mechanical” problems the FAA cited were repaired at the tiny South Carolina airport the plane was using. The missing tag only identified the seat belt, Miller said, and had no effect on the operation of the aircraft.

The plane is back in the air, he said.

“It’s in Detroit today,” Miller said.