The war over aerial banners in Oahu’s skies escalated Monday afternoon with Honolulu police arresting the pilot of an Aerial Banners North airplane at Dillingham Air Field.
The pilot flew a banner with the words "Advertising Isn’t Just for Politicians" over different parts of the island for about an hour at about noontime Monday, said Michael J. McAllister, an attorney for Aerial Banners North.
Waianae resident Matthew Radeck, 55, was arrested shortly after landing at the airfield at about 1 p.m. and later charged with violating the city’s aerial-advertising ordinance. He was released after posting $100 bail pending an Aug. 26 court date.
Radeck, an independent contractor hired by the aerial advertising company, was the same man who was issued a citation for the same offense July 4 after flying a different aerial banner.
Asked why the pilot was arrested Monday rather than issued a citation, HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said, "The law allows for citation or arrest. In this instance the same individual had been cited for the same infraction earlier."
A person found guilty of the violation is subject to a maximum fine of $500 and up to three months in jail for each violation.
McAllister said Aerial Banners North will pay for the pilot’s defense. Radeck is scheduled to appear in Honolulu District Court on Aug. 5 for the first offense.
The company itself was slapped with a violation last week for running an aerial banner ad that said, "Can’t We Just All Get Along?" McAllister said.
Monday’s banner — "Advertising Isn’t Just for Politicians" — is a reference to the fact that politicians put up unsightly political signs at street level during campaign season, making it hypocritical for them to go after aerial ads, he said.
Over the weekend a man tasked the company with flying the banner "Will You Marry Me Rachel?" over the Diamond Head area, McAllister said.
Aerial Banners North continues to maintain that laws governing the skies are strictly the purview of the Federal Aviation Administration and that municipalities cannot regulate airspace.
A letter sent by FAA Acting Chief Counsel Patricia A. McNall to Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Monday indicates otherwise.
McNall said Aerial Banners North does have a waiver allowing it to fly aerial banners in various states, including Hawaii. However, she said, the waiver does not pre-empt any Honolulu ordinances.
She said she is not aware of any evidence indicating that the company was in violation of its waiver, but said that "evidence of noncompliance would be investigated by the FAA’s Flight Standards District Office in Honolulu before deciding whether an enforcement action or revocation was warranted."
McAllister said if the FAA is taking that position, it could open up a legal precedent allowing municipalities to trump federal laws on a variety of air-related issues from outlawing drones to rules on how cargo can be handled.
As of Friday, attorneys in the Caldwell administration had not sought a court order to legally stop Aerial Banners North from violating the city law, although Corporation Counsel Donna Leong told reporters that her office is considering doing so. Leong could not be reach for comment Monday.
The Outdoor Circle, which has fought successfully to keep billboards out of Hawaii for decades, has vowed to take Aerial Banners North to court if necessary.
The city’s aerial advertising prohibition has been upheld twice by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — against the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform in 2006 and Skysign International Inc. in 2002.
