By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Report

Peninsula

Dozens of Santa Clara County residents clogged emergency telephone lines early Thursday morning with reports of a low-flying airplane hovering over the Peninsula that many believed could be operated by terrorists. A spokesman from the Federal Aviation Administration told one Los Altos resident his was the 50th call he had received about the plane that day.

Los Altos resident Sally Abel said the plane woke her up at around 3 a.m.

“I had a sleepless night thinking we were being attacked and how I would protect my children,” she said. Several residents reported similar reactions after hearing the plane’s loud buzzing.

The plane was conducting a routine check of electrical emissions from utility lines, said Terry Christensen, a safety inspector for the San Jose branch office of the FAA. The Federal Communication Commission requires the annual safety inspection to determine if there’s any electrical interference with aircraft communications.

Christensen said Flight Trax conducted the inspection on behalf of AT&T Broadband.

Christensen said the FAA was unaware of the flight until residents began calling.

General aviation aircraft are not required to report such inspection flights to the FAA, he said. Christensen said the twin-engine plane followed Oakland’s flight patterns.

“It was a matter of them trying to do their business,” Christensen said. “We believe there were no violations or inconsistencies.

“We are still investigating if it was flying at a legitimate altitude.”