GA Anthrax Scare

The words prank and airplane never mix but a couple of wags in Arizona, who undoubtedly had the best of intentions, could pay a heavy price for their afternoon of fun. Joshua Parriott, 29, of Phoenix and his passenger James Klein, 42, of Chandler, face three misdemeanor charges and could face federal prosecution after they allegedly dropped sacks of flour from an airplane over a wilderness area. According to the Scottsdale Republic, they were apparently doing it as a joke on friends engaged in a paintball game in the forest below. However, other residents of the area, who werent in on the joke, thought they were terrorists bent on poisoning the local water supply with anthrax. Although, according to AVweb sources who told us about the story, the duocarefully planned the exercise to ensure no one was hurt, they overlooked a detail. The alleged drops took place on the same day as the elections in Iraq. Witnesses who saw the low-flying plane dispensing white powder…well, you know the rest. Parriott was fired as an instructor at a local flight school. FAA spokesman Donn Walker’s words did not cast favor on the pilots.