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SANTA MONICA -- It was an aerial stunt that looked more like an attack, and it has the Federal Aviation Administration looking more closely into experimental exhibition aircraft.
Newly-released video shows an L-39 Albatros military jet buzzing the Santa Monica Pier at speeds of up to 350 mph.
The amateur video, taken in November of 2008, shows the jet making several low-altitude passes over the pier and pulling up into a steep climb before hitting the popular ferris wheel.
Onlookers can be heard screaming in terror as the jet whizzes past the pier.
The Czech-made aircraft was one of the most popular Soviet bloc trainers during the Cold War.
Several 911 calls were made in response to the impromptu air show.
"I am out here by the beach, the Santa Monica Pier, and there are two military jets buzzing. I mean, they're coming in close. They're maybe 10 feet above it (the pier)," one caller said.
Another caller reported seeing a jet "flying very, very, very low to the water."
It turned out the stunt was arranged by a local pilot to promote an unfinished movie.
David G. Riggs and a second pilot, Skip Holm, set out in two jets that day with a plan to do four safe passes of the pier as a third plane towed a movie banner, according to Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board records.
Riggs allegedly flew away from the other two planes and put on the controversial aerial show.
Riggs lost his license in January and faces a misdemeanor criminal case in Santa Monica. If convicted, he could be fined $1,000 and get up to a year in jail.
Riggs' attorney, John Duran, said his client was in a secondary plane and was just following Holm's flight pattern.
Meanwhile, this is not the pilot's first brush with the law.
Riggs has served time in Hong Kong for passport fraud, according to court documents. He was also convicted several times in Missouri on theft and fraud charges, according to the documents.
The incident in Santa Monica has prompted the FAA to take a closer look at experimental exhibition aircraft, like Riggs', which are restricted by the government to air shows, flight demonstrations or training flights over sparsely populated areas.
Riggs can apply for a new license in January.
Newly-released video shows an L-39 Albatros military jet buzzing the Santa Monica Pier at speeds of up to 350 mph.
The amateur video, taken in November of 2008, shows the jet making several low-altitude passes over the pier and pulling up into a steep climb before hitting the popular ferris wheel.
Onlookers can be heard screaming in terror as the jet whizzes past the pier.
The Czech-made aircraft was one of the most popular Soviet bloc trainers during the Cold War.
Several 911 calls were made in response to the impromptu air show.
"I am out here by the beach, the Santa Monica Pier, and there are two military jets buzzing. I mean, they're coming in close. They're maybe 10 feet above it (the pier)," one caller said.
Another caller reported seeing a jet "flying very, very, very low to the water."
It turned out the stunt was arranged by a local pilot to promote an unfinished movie.
David G. Riggs and a second pilot, Skip Holm, set out in two jets that day with a plan to do four safe passes of the pier as a third plane towed a movie banner, according to Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board records.
Riggs allegedly flew away from the other two planes and put on the controversial aerial show.
Riggs lost his license in January and faces a misdemeanor criminal case in Santa Monica. If convicted, he could be fined $1,000 and get up to a year in jail.
Riggs' attorney, John Duran, said his client was in a secondary plane and was just following Holm's flight pattern.
Meanwhile, this is not the pilot's first brush with the law.
Riggs has served time in Hong Kong for passport fraud, according to court documents. He was also convicted several times in Missouri on theft and fraud charges, according to the documents.
The incident in Santa Monica has prompted the FAA to take a closer look at experimental exhibition aircraft, like Riggs', which are restricted by the government to air shows, flight demonstrations or training flights over sparsely populated areas.
Riggs can apply for a new license in January.
