UPDATE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCLUDE BOB WALSH’S DENIALS OF MANY OF THE ALLEGATIONS LISTED BELOW AFTER RETURNING THE CURRENT’S REQUEST FOR COMMENT WEDNESDAY MORNING.
Nantucket Memorial Airport and Bob Walsh have been engaged in a feud for years. That fight went into the next round Tuesday morning when the airport commission filed a complaint in Nantucket Superior Court against Walsh, a pilot who was previously banned from the airport for dangerous and reckless behavior.
The suit alleges that Walsh, who has homes on Nantucket and in Vermont, ignored a notice of restriction from Airport Manager Tom Rafter and a criminal no trespass notice issued by the Nantucket Police. Walsh allegedly landed his aircraft at the airport at least 24 times in the summer of 2021 without any advance notice or permission.
“Mr. Walsh’s dangerous escalation must stop,” the commission says in its suit. “The commission seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions and money damages against Mr. Walsh for his unauthorized activity at the airport, which presents safety risks to the traveling public while diverting airport resources and personnel away from other pressing matters.”
It was on July 2, 2019 when Walsh was barred from utilizing the airport’s services. On February 9, 2021, the airport commission allowed him to operate as a transient pilot under strict conditions. This was the beginning of a slew of violations committed by Walsh.
The airport sent Walsh a letter each time he violated the access restrictions in place from April 2021 through August of 2021. The airport has continued to update the Federal Aviation Administration on the matter, prompting the FAA to tell the airport this is now a local safety and security issue.
On July 14, 2021, the airport says Walsh’s actions escalated. Instead of contacting airport operations when he landed, he taxied across a grass island and into a parking position adjacent to the FBO without any supervision.
Walsh continued to ignore the airport through August. On August 10, 2021, Walsh taxied across a grass island to an unassigned parking space and nearly hit the wingtip of an adjacent aircraft.
A full ban of Walsh from the airport was reinstituted on August 25, 2021 and the police department issued a no trespassing notice to Walsh when he landed on the airport on August 28.
Walsh calmed down for a few months before getting back into his old ways, flying into the airport on Friday, December 3, 2021 to enjoy Christmas Stroll. His passengers included his fourth attorney in this matter, Donald Papcsy, and Papcsy’s family.
Walsh proceeded to taxi his aircraft adjacent to a private hangar, unguided, and only left an estimated 15’ of wingtip clearance between his aircraft and the building. The FAA minimum is 45’ in order to ensure enough space for emergency vehicles.
Walsh’s stay wasn’t for long. He was walking through the airport FBO two days later on December 5 with an empty luggage cart when assistant airport manager Noah Karberg saw him. Once Walsh saw Karberg, he proceeded to leave the FBO and hide behind a rental suburban parked in the airport parking lot.
An hour later Walsh emerged from his hiding spot and entered the airfield through Gate 36 after he was mistakenly allowed through by a gate attendant who was unfamiliar with who he was. When airport personnel realized who they were dealing with, they called the police to assist with escorting him away.
The police spoke to Papcsy at the scene, who told police he was Walsh’s attorney. It was learned later on that Papcsy is not admitted to practice law in Massachusetts. Walsh was permitted to fly out of the airport after Papcsy falsely claimed to police that a January 2021 document from the FAA determined Walsh could not be banned from utilizing the airport. Police told the airport to alert them if Walsh ever returned.
On January 31, Walsh flew into the airport using an aircraft owned by a different pilot and did not radio to airport operations for parking. Walsh eventually had no choice but to reveal his true identity and radio into the FBO to request assistance because his aircraft had a flat tire.
Walsh left the airport that afternoon and the flat tire was fixed the next day, February 1. Walsh arrived at the airport on Feb. 1, tried and failed to access the general aviation ramp, and proceeded to the FBO building where he was met by the airport’s law enforcement officer on duty.
The officer informed Walsh he wasn’t allowed to access his aircraft, to which Walsh responded by escalating the situation to a point where another local police officer and a state police officer were called to the scene.
Police eventually allowed Walsh to access his aircraft under a direct escort from airport staff and issued a criminal summons against Walsh for trespassing, which is currently awaiting action in the Nantucket District Court.
But Walsh wasn’t finished. He arrived at the airport again on February 8, was met by the officer on duty and Karberg, issued a second criminal summons for trespassing, and proceeded to respond by grabbing the officer’s badge, which he received a verbal warning for.
Walsh told airport staff he won’t be gone for long and intends to return on February 17.
The story of Bob Walsh and his history with the airport goes back over a decade. He operated an air charter service called Nantucket Express from 2005 through 2019. He had airport credentials while operating this service as part of his agreement with the airport.
Walsh was involved in multiple safety and security incidents at the airport in 2018 and 2019. He eventually had his air carrier certificate revoked by the FAA in January of 2020 for Nantucket Express.
“Nantucket Express operated in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of others,” the FAA said when issuing the notice of revocation.
In August of 2018, Walsh experienced a flat tire while landing at the airport, left the aircraft on the runway, and departed the airport with another aircraft. He left behind the disabled aircraft, an airplane seat on the taxiway, and a passenger in the aircraft. Walsh was issued a verbal warning after this incident.
In 2019 it was determined following an investigation by the Flight Standards Service Department of the Federal Aviation Administration that on March 24, 2018, an individual with a federal criminal record involving trafficking drugs by aircraft used Walsh’s credentials. The airport proceeded to revoke Walsh’s airport access badge and not renew their agreement with Walsh following this investigation.
On April 26, 2019, Walsh urinated on the airfield in the presence of three FAA inspectors and dumped a full urinal onto the airfield grass.
On May 3, 2019, Walsh was seen by airport employees picking up passengers in an area he wasn’t allowed to be and departed without paying a landing fee or ramp fee for the trip.
Walsh responded to the Current’s request for comment Wednesday morning, alleging that the airport is operating outside of its jurisdiction with their attempts to ban him from the airport. He said denied many of the allegations in the complaint filed against him and said he is looking forward to having his day in court.
