BOULDER, Colo. -- Silence may be golden, but the lengths to which some people will go for a little quiet time may not be.

A Boulder man has received a 12-month deferred sentence for running onto the grounds of Boulder Municipal Airport, swearing at aircraft overhead, waving his arms and complaining about noise. Witnesses said he also threatened to "shut this airport down."

But Greg Camalier, 39, said he never made some of the statements that witnesses attributed to him.

A police report said Camalier got within 15 feet of a helicopter taxiing on a runway on March 26.

Scooter Mainero, a pilot who witnessed the incident, said Camalier was shaking his fists and shouting at planes. He even caused one plane to abort a landing, Mainero said.

The incident began when Airport Manager Tim Head received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Greg Camalier and said, "Someone tell the helicopters to shut the (expletive) up."

Camalier lives 400 feet from the edge of the airport.

Prosecutors dropped an obstruction charge in exchange for Camalier's guilty plea to trespassing. The deferred sentence means he will stay out of jail unless he's charged with a similar offense in the next year.

His attorney said Camalier is embarrassed by the incident.