A 40-year-old Brooklynite who soars above the city like a superhero using a parachute and motorized propeller strapped to his back has been grounded by the NYPD.<\/p>\n
Johnathan Warren said in an exclusive interview with Gothamist that he\u2019s taken his $12,000 homemade rig on more than 30 flights above New York City and New Jersey over the last two years to bask in the beauty of America\u2019s greatest metropolis.<\/p>\n
But police officers and an NYPD helicopter swarmed Warren as he landed at Calvert Vaux Park on Gravesend Bay on Sunday. They cuffed him, took him to the local precinct, gave him a summons and seized his gear.<\/p>\n
Now, New York\u2019s \u201cFan Man\u201d is on a mission to get his fan back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI seem to be the only person that\u2019s figured out that this is legal here,\u201d a grounded Warren lamented at his home in Bedford-Stuyvesant the day after his arrest. \u201cI\u2019ve been a model aviator in New York City. I think I do this very, very responsibly and very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warren\u2019s account differs from one provided by an NYPD spokesperson. Police alleged that Warren had parachuted off the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge<\/a>, which is normally off-limits to pedestrians and daredevils alike, as it reopened to traffic following the New York City Marathon<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Warren said he\u2019d taken off from the same park near Bath Beach where he\u2019d landed \u2014 and that he\u2019d made the same flight many times before. He insists he follows every federal aviation rule to a tee and that his flying device is perfectly legal.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone saw me flying away from the Verrazzano Bridge, assumed I must have jumped off of it and called 911,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Warren\u2019s flying machine is reminiscent of the one used by \u201cFan Man\u201d James Miller, who infamously crash landed on the side of a boxing ring during a 1993 heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, creating a wild spectacle.<\/p>\n Warren is due in court on Nov. 22. He plans to argue his flights of fancy are legal and convince a judge to order the NYPD to return his aircraft.<\/p>\n The laws of the skies are cloudy<\/p>\n Warren was very clear that his flying machine is not a paraglider.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a \u201cparamotor,\u201d which is \u201ca paraglider with a fan on your back,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has a 16-horsepower motor. It’s relatively quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren described his machine as an \u201cultralight vehicle,\u201d a class of recreational aircraft that can only carry a single person and, if powered, weighs less than 254 pounds. He said he checks all of those boxes.<\/p>\n His vehicle is also banned from traveling higher than 1,400 feet, he said.<\/p>\n Jonathan Carr, a paramotor instructor and administrator for the United States Powered Paragliding Association, said the legality of Warren\u2019s high-flying hobby hinges on whether he flies only over \u201cuncongested\u201d areas, a term that isn\u2019t clearly defined in federal aviation law.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aIf there’s no people, then yes, it technically wouldn’t be considered congested,\u201d Carr said. \u201c\u2018Congested\u2019 is kind of a loosely defined word, but the main idea behind this in terms of operating an ultralight aircraft is \u2026 we’re able to operate and have fun as long as we’re not putting other people’s rights or safety in jeopardy.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s waterways are not typically described as \u201cuncongested.\u201d They\u2019re often filled with barges, ferries and boats. But Carr said Warren is in accordance with the law as long as he doesn\u2019t fly directly over the vessels.<\/p>\n An NYPD spokesperson disagreed. The officer said the \u201cFan Man\u201d breaks numerous local laws with each flight, but did not specify which ones. The spokesperson also said the operation of the paramotor in a densely populated area created a substantial risk of serious physical injury to others.<\/p>\n Warren said he flies \u201clike an absolute saint.\u201d<\/p>\n The city parks department piled on, saying paramotors like the one used by Warren and other fanfolk are prohibited in city parks.<\/p>\n New Yorkers got to know another “Fan Man” back in 2001, when French daredevil Thierry Devaux crashed his paramotor<\/a> onto the Statue of Liberty\u2019s torch to protest the use of land mines.<\/p>\n For just $12,000, Johnathan Warren said, he assembled a flying machine that gives him incredible views of the city.<\/p>\n Courtesyof Johnathan Warren<\/p>\n Regulations of helicopters and other aircraft have been a source of debate in New York City for decades, and have received even more attention since 9\/11.<\/p>\n