I can scarcely believe it, even coming from the perhaps the biggest blowhard in the Senate. Inhofe landed his private plane on a clearly marked closed runway, "scaring the crap" out of construction workers inconveniently in the way, and now he's whining about FAA overreach:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/sen_inhofe_wants_to_ease_desperation_of_pilots_fac.php

Inhofe agreed to and completed a "program of remedial training" in place of legal action in December of 2010, according to an FAA report, after he landed his plane at Cameron County Airport in South Texas last October on a closed runway marked with a large X. According to the report, Inhofe saw the X but "still elected to land avoiding the men and equipment on the runway."

Audiotapes of a call from Sidney Boyd, who was supervising runway construction, to the FAA identify Inhofe, and describe how he "sky hopped" over six vehicles and construction personnel on the runway, before he landed. The landing "scared the crap out of us," Boyd said.

Inhofe said that part of the reason for his legislation was how difficult it was for him to get a hold of the audiotapes. "When I tried to get the voice recording, it took me four months, and I'm a United States senator."

He also maintains his innocence: "I did nothing wrong, but at any time I could have suffered the revocation of a license."

Word is he's done crap like this before. Anybody know?

Oddly enough, I heard about this story first, rather the update, from the demon Maddow woman:

http://newsmobius.com/2011/07/rachel-maddow-sen-james-inhofe%E2%80%99s-war-with-the-faa-is-about-his-horrible-flying/

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