Maybe it shouldn't... but it still surprises me how much public hysteria can be caused by such thing as a low flying aircraft. Be that civilian or military - like the history of the Cessna flown from Canada into US by the guy who wanted to be shot down, or the Ospreys that messed up few backyards during USMC exercises.
I'm not advocating doing anything against the law, or safety, but some of those events are blown off the proportions. I see you guys have to work with some serious hate against anything that fly. Am actually surprised there are no AAAs placed all around the US shooting at anything that goes few deg. off stated course.
Let me tell you this - since I remember, every time local ASW and SAR crews were returning from exercises, they were making a low pass over the town, at about half the legal altitude (!). And those are not ultralights, but 20000 pounds of steel, topped of with few tons of fuel, and usually two of those in close formation. The birds scatter, the windows are shaking, but haven't heard a single complaint. "They are still flying, the Navy is still keeping us safe, and the "boys" will be soon in their homes with families" - that's the message here. The GA are enjoying the view here too, flying for the sheer joy of it, and the Mayor only thinks how to get more small planes and private helicopters into the area.
Yeah that Santa Monica pilot should have known better, but people in the US are freaking out way too easily, and the medias are not helping, I see it goes downhill since the 9/11 - and we were ALL hit that day.
It just makes me wonder - during this year there were two accidents of GA aircraft crashing inside cities, here in Poland... and no one tried to attack the GA here after those. The news don't even go into what-ifs, just state what happened, and go on into other stories of the day. Military crashes got a LOT more attention.
Just my $0.02 at the 3AM after few shots of Jeremiah Weed...