What is the record on buzz jobs; have a lot of people on the ground been killed doing it? Just seems like the flap that follows them is out of proportion. Zoom, its over.
We all know its against the law and generally condemned, but I was wondering if it was an emotional reaction to the sight, the noise or if there was an actual physical hazard to the public's life and limb.
http://www.srcfiles.com/aalaw/203.pdf
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-sm-pier-jet-buzz,0,404915.story
I work in human factors flight safety connected with display flying so I'm familiar with the "buzzing" scenario. Our pilots work professionally every day with unrestricted aerobatic waivers so the scenario and it's ramifications are quite familiar to us.
There are several factors involving flight safety mostly connected to the pilot end of the buzz equation. Regulations aside, there are a lot of things that can bite you doing a buzz job and nearly all of them are unpleasant.
First and foremost, the environment can be deadly. You are down in the bird's flight arena in most all buzz jobs and a bird hit at what most certainly will be at above normal airspeed can have devastating effects on the aircraft. This can easily take you out alone or into the people below.
Then there is a possible unfamiliarity with the low altitude high speed environment by a pilot not accustomed to being in that environment. There are thermals, wind shifts, and even sheers that you might easily have to deal with during a low altitude high speed pass. Terrain perspectives and visual cues are different, come at you with a speed you might not be used to and can bite you quickly.
Then there is always the danger of accelerated stall at the end of the pass as a buzzing pilot pulls up invariably with a banking climbing turn that increases the stall speed of the airplane. Add to this any pro-skid doghouse and things could get busy for you quite quickly.
Pilots prone to doing it are also prone to pushing it down just a bit lower than they are competent to handle it and perhaps doing it a bit faster than they are normally used to flying.
ALL low flying is dangerous. The error margin can go all the way to zero in certain conditions. Proactive control pressures can become reactive control pressures and that coupled with a severely reduced response time line in any emergency, even considering non emergency can be a real problem for a buzzing pilot.
Generally speaking, buzzing isn't a good idea. Keep in mind I've not gone very deeply into this issue but the basics are here anyway.
Hope this helps toward a better understanding.
Dudley Henriques