Man threatened chopper with tomatoes

[ppheli]

From the Sunday Mail, Queensland
http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17342656%5E1702,00.html

23nov05
A MAN agitated by a helicopter hovering over his home on Queensland's Gold Coast threatened to shoot it down with tomatoes, a court has been told.

The Southport Magistrates' Court was told today Anthony Douglas Donohue, 34, telephoned Air Services Australia in Canberra yesterday to complain about the helicopter.

Mr Donohue allegedly threatened to blow the chopper out of the sky using a home-made bazooka loaded with tomatoes.

He is charged with two counts of threatening to endanger the safety of an aircraft.

He was not required to enter a plea in court today and will face court again next month.

Outside court, Donohue's solicitor Bill Potts said: "Fruit is hardly a weapon of mass terror but having said that, the pilot of the aircraft was not to know that that was the case."

Authorities searched the Sorrento home Mr Donohue shares with his mother but no weapons of any kind were found, a police spokesman said.

Police said such threats were taken "very seriously" and were not tolerated.

[ShyTorque]

No weapons of mess destruction were found? This then, is just puree speculation. However, in his defence, the man should have said he was just trying to help the pilot suckseed in his mission.

However, did he have NO consideration of the implications of this on local greenhouse gases?

;)

[Head Turner]

Watch out down under you have now added your locality onto the Bush Administration List of 'Who to attack next'. You have qualified to be attacked because there is a feint likelihood that you might have secretly hidden nasty weapons of mass destruction which we all know are really not there but why use that as an excuse not to attack. Attacking is great fun and leads to the increase in helicopter technology through that vital need of invention. Contracts to restructure the Aussie culture to meet the superior standards of the USA will be plentyful. Check out the Detroit motor industry and see what Bush is doing for his home folk. Something wonderful for you Aussie to dream of. The helicopter industry need such a challenge as this. So you tomato growers, arm your weapons and let the fun begin. Stephen Spielberg will produce an enlightening film once the tomato pips have stopped flying. Post the photos on this forum, pips, skin and the odd severed sprig of sun ripened tomatoes.

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

Now, if the guy had also threatened to throw his cap at the helicopter, I'm sure an air-strike would have been called in on his location.

[Ian Corrigible]

It's the rise of the GM tomato I tell you: they tasted blood back in '78 when they downed Jack Riley's Hiller UH-12E, and now they're back for more. Run for the hills !

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000B1OEP.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

:E

I/C

[WASALOADIE]

If he had fired the toms at the helo, how long would it have taken for the authorities to ketchup with him?

[peachpilot]

but nobody would have made a fuss if he'd taken them out of the tins first !

[NorthSeaTiger]

Still, not as bad as the nutter at ABZ that was so P****d off with the chopper noise he was hitting golf balls out of his garden at running Super Pumas :eek:

[nutcracker43]

In Germany (1969) just S.W. of Gutersloh some fellow was so peed off with F104's and Wessex flying over his place that he used to fire cakes at them from a home made ballista. (he was a baker).

Got a severe bollocking from the powers that be, I was told. They tended to avoid him after that!

NC43

[heliduck]

I'll bet that the tomatoes were the big red juicy kind with no blemishes, sweet & crisp - grown that way with the help of a heli ag pilot in the lockyer valley who spends his day dodging wires.
If this bloke is ever laying in a ditch after flipping his car I hope the EMS heli crew lean out the door & throw tomatoes at him.
Having said that, if the report is accurate & the machine was "hovering over his home" the pilot needs more than tomatoes thrown at him!

[Sir HC]

I once knew a blackfella named Jim
We used to throw 'matoes at 'im
Tomatoes are soft and don't bruise your skin
But these F***ers did, they were still in the tin!

Good point Heliduck, but I think the FW guys do most of the work in the Lockyer Valley.