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.
Johnathan Warren said in an exclusive interview with Gothamist that he’s 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’s greatest metropolis.
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.
Now, New York’s “Fan Man” is on a mission to get his fan back.
“I seem to be the only person that’s figured out that this is legal here,” a grounded Warren lamented at his home in Bedford-Stuyvesant the day after his arrest. “I’ve been a model aviator in New York City. I think I do this very, very responsibly and very well.”
Warren’s account differs from one provided by an NYPD spokesperson. Police alleged that Warren had parachuted off the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which is normally off-limits to pedestrians and daredevils alike, as it reopened to traffic following the New York City Marathon.
But Warren said he’d taken off from the same park near Bath Beach where he’d landed — and that he’d 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.
“Someone saw me flying away from the Verrazzano Bridge, assumed I must have jumped off of it and called 911,” he said.
Warren’s flying machine is reminiscent of the one used by “Fan Man” 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.
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.
The laws of the skies are cloudy
Warren was very clear that his flying machine is not a paraglider.
It’s a “paramotor,” which is “a paraglider with a fan on your back,” he said. “It has a 16-horsepower motor. It's relatively quiet.”
Warren described his machine as an “ultralight vehicle,” 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.
His vehicle is also banned from traveling higher than 1,400 feet, he said.
Jonathan Carr, a paramotor instructor and administrator for the United States Powered Paragliding Association, said the legality of Warren’s high-flying hobby hinges on whether he flies only over “uncongested” areas, a term that isn’t clearly defined in federal aviation law.
“ If there's no people, then yes, it technically wouldn't be considered congested,” Carr said. “‘Congested’ is kind of a loosely defined word, but the main idea behind this in terms of operating an ultralight aircraft is … we're able to operate and have fun as long as we're not putting other people's rights or safety in jeopardy.”
The city’s waterways are not typically described as “uncongested.” They’re often filled with barges, ferries and boats. But Carr said Warren is in accordance with the law as long as he doesn’t fly directly over the vessels.
An NYPD spokesperson disagreed. The officer said the “Fan Man” 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.
Warren said he flies “like an absolute saint.”
The city parks department piled on, saying paramotors like the one used by Warren and other fanfolk are prohibited in city parks.
New Yorkers got to know another "Fan Man" back in 2001, when French daredevil Thierry Devaux crashed his paramotor onto the Statue of Liberty’s torch to protest the use of land mines.
For just $12,000, Johnathan Warren said, he assembled a flying machine that gives him incredible views of the city.
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.
Rooftop helipads were banned in the city after a fatal crash atop the Pan Am Building in 1977. Open-door sightseeing helicopter flights were banned at the city's heliports following another deadly crash in the East River in 2018. In April, a family of five and a pilot were killed when a tourist helicopter crash-landed in the Hudson River.
Warren said he believes he’s the only one in the city who flies around in a paramotor these days, and added NYPD and news helicopters often see him but don’t give him any trouble. But his Sunday flight came after the New York City Marathon, when the NYPD was on high alert, which may have brought him extra attention.
For now, the police are holding his aircraft as evidence. An NYPD spokesperson said he can petition for its release after his court case is resolved.
Until then, the “Fan Man” may be tethered to this earthly plane.
The future of NYC fan flight hangs in the balance
Warren’s court case may set a precedent that determines whether others can join him in the skies with their own paramotors. He said he’s baffled by all the fuss, and argued police should be more focused on dangerous drivers.
“I find it eternally frustrating that I put myself under pressure to fly like an absolute saint but I ride my bike to my landing zone and when I ride my bike, people are committing crimes in cars constantly,” he said. “They put my life in immediate and serious danger.”
Warren is no fan of cars. He said he packs up his flying gear into a wagon he pulls with an e-bike — his very own Fanmobile — and travels from his Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment to the South Brooklyn waterfront.
Some of Warren’s routes include flying along Coney Island and down toward Far Rockaway. He said he loves to climb to 1,400 feet, the highest he believes he’s allowed to fly, turn off his engine and “float down silently.”
“It’s beautiful. The sunsets are beautiful. The ocean is beautiful because I spend a lot of time over the ocean. … You see all these teeny, tiny little cars driving along the highway and you’re just like, wow, they’re so adorable,” Warren said. “And I’m up here by myself, and I put myself up here.”
Warren said he’ll keep flying if he can get his aircraft back from the NYPD.
