C185 PLT FLEW SEVERAL CIRCLES OVER RESIDENTIAL AREA AT 1000 FT AGL RESULTING IN SEVERAL PUBLIC COMPLAINTS REGARDING A POSSIBLE CHEMICAL SPRAY.

Narrative

ON THE EVENING OF OCT/TUE/01; I TOOK MY C185 OUT FOR THE FIRST FLT SINCE THE ATTACK OF SEP/TUE/01. I FLEW OVER MY TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS; AZ; THAT HAS A POPULATION OF APPROX 20000. I CIRCLED MY FRIEND'S HOUSE; MY HOUSE; AND THE TOWN FOUNTAIN. BECAUSE IT WAS GETTING DARK; I STAYED BASICALLY OVER TOWN TO AVOID HIGHER TERRAIN IN THE AREA. I PAID PARTICULAR ATTN TO MY ALT TO MAKE SURE I WAS AT LEAST 1000 FT ABOVE THE SURFACE. I FLEW FOR ABOUT 30 MINS AND AFTER LNDG AT FALCON FIELD; GND CTL ASKED ME TO CALL SCOTTSDALE ATCT. THE TWR CTLR ASKED IF I HAD BEEN FLYING OVER FOUNTAIN HILLS AND I SAID 'YES.' HE THEN ASKED IF I WAS AT A LOW ALT AND I SAID 'ABSOLUTELY NO.' HE TOLD ME THAT THE SHERIFF'S DEPT CALLED THE FAA IN LAX ABOUT A LOW FLYING ACFT THAT WAS CIRCLING FOUNTAIN HILLS. THE FAA THEN CALLED SCOTTSDALE TWR TO INVESTIGATE. HE TOOK MY NAME; ADDRESS; TELEPHONE NUMBER; AND N-NUMBER. LATER I CALLED THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND TALKED TO THE DISPATCHER. SHE SAID THEY RECEIVED SEVERAL CALLS ABOUT A LOW FLYING AIRPLANE CIRCLING THE TOWN. SHE SAID THAT THE CONCERN OF THE CALLERS WAS NOT THE LOW ALT; BUT THAT MAYBE IT WAS A SPY PLANE DROPPING SOMETHING LIKE ANTHRAX. I CALLED THE SCOTTSDALE TWR AGAIN AND TOLD HIM WHAT THE DISPATCHER HAD SAID. HE APOLOGIZED BECAUSE HE DIDN'T THINK I HAD DONE ANYTHING WRONG; BUT HE HAD TO FILE A RPT TO THE LCL FSDO BECAUSE HE WAS ASKED TO DO SO BY THE FAA.