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Teen Charged in Football Game Flyover

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[November 09, 2007]  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A teenager flew a small airplane low over a high school football game and dropped a football into the end zone as a prank, said authorities who are now charging him with misdemeanors.

Brian Morris, 17, was in court Thursday to face two charges: dangerous flying and dropping objects at a sporting event.

"These are very uncommon. They are not normal charges," Huntersville police spokesman Capt. Michael Kee.

The football dropped last Friday was signed by Hopewell High School faculty and students, and school officials are investigating how many people knew about Morris' plans.

Morris was flying low enough that some spectators could see the tail numbers on the rented single-engine Cessna 172, police said. Two passengers won't be charged, police said.

"He was below the level of the stadium lights, so that was quite a shock to people who were there," Kee said. "It's certainly up to the judge, but the seriousness of what he did, it potentially could have been a bad situation."

Officials at the school north of Charlotte suspended Morris on Monday, but it was unclear what his status was Thursday. School district officials said they couldn't discuss his or any student's files.

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A court clerk didn't know whether Morris had an attorney. A woman at a home believed to be Morris' declined to comment to the Charlotte Observer on Monday.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency may suspend or revoke Morris' pilot's certificate following an investigation. The FAA requires an altitude of at least 1,000 feet when flying over a large crowd.

Kaleb Combs, a junior at Hopewell High School and Morris' friend, told the Observer that many students knew in advance what Morris planned and that students collected $700 at the game in case he needed bail money.

[Associated Press]

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