Definitively - NO
I have some first hand experience with this and it WAS NOT fun. Nearly wound up in court with the FAA, and that doesn't bode well when you make your living as a pilot.
The situation was simple: I was showing my RV4 to a prospective buyer. The buyer wanted me to make a pass when I arrived. Fine, no problem.
When I arrived in the traffic pattern (uncontrolled airport, but city owned) I had a C172 in front of me flying a monster pattern. We were the only two aircraft in the pattern, and he wasn't saying a word on the Unicom.
Long story short, I took spacing on the 172, and after he landed and was nearing the midfield turn off, I came over the numbers at about 100 feet doing about 160 knots indicated. Top of green arc for the RV4.
The 172 never did turn off, and continued taxiing straight ahead very slowly all without any radio calls on Unicom. I maintained my altitude, and offset to the right (per FARs dealing with overtaking aircraft), which put me over the grass between the runway and the parallel taxiway. I flew by the 172, pulled a left closed at the end of the runway, and full stopped the next landing. Thankfully, I had a couple of witnesses: the guy who bought my RV and another CFI who just happened to be a legal rep for Bell Helicopter. (These guys saved my bacon, and maybe even my ticket.)
After landing, I was met by the airport manager (a non-pilot public servant, appointed by the local FSDO to serve that airport) who didn't like my pass. I didn't give him an inch and he eventually just walked away. Turns out he gave a report to the local FSDO that was totally erroneous and damaging.
I got a certified letter from the FSDO about a month later which said I was seen "performing acrobatics over the airport and in close proximity to other aircraft". Exact quote - and total BS. (for you third graders out there: "acrobatics" is what a gymnast does. "aerobatics" is what an airplane does. But I digress...) After they got sworn letters from my witnesses,
the FAA then changed their charge to that of violating FAR 91.119(c) , which reads:
Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:
(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.
(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
Paragraph (c) can be
very loosely interpreted. In my case, even when FLYING OVER A RUNWAY / RUNWAY ENVIRONMENT the FAA interpreted that as an "other than congested area". That means (technically) that ANY flying done over an airport, runway, or runway environment can be called into question. Your practice go-around, practice missed approach, low pass - anything is fair game to them.
If some airport manager, Fed,
anybody doesn't like what you're doing at his airport, then he can write up anything he wants and submit to the FSDO, who IS his friend. They are then called by law to "investigate" what happened and to find out if any FAR's were violated. Its that simple, and that dangerous.
I know others who've told me of similar fights with the FAA over this FAR. One guy was violated for flying over a picnic at a private airstrip with his gear up (that's how the FAA knew he didn't intend to land). Another friend of mine actually had a city cop report his flying (RV4) to the
control tower because he thought it was too "aggressive". This, at a TOWERED airport, and he was just flying nice tight patterns to an empty runway. The tower never said a word about it!
Advise: If you want to do a low pass, its at your own risk.
Technically its illegal, unless you can show that you had intent to land, per the FAR above. I've only heard of exactly ONE CASE where a low pass was officially approved at other than an airshow, etc. Do not assume any of the Feds will be there to defend you.
They will not put their ticket on the line for yours you can bet on that.