Bill On Its Way To State Senate
One Pennsylvania
lawmaker said she was flabbergasted after a pilot thought to have
been drunk flew a meandering path right into oncoming traffic at
Philadelphia International -- dismayed that there are no laws in
the Keystone State that prohibit flying while intoxicated.
"We were absolutely shocked to learn that a pilot could not be
charged" with flying under the influence, said state Rep. Kate
Harper. "We knew about drunken boating, drunken hunting, driving a
school bus drunk … it had never occurred to us about drunken
flying."
So Harper and her fellow represenatives Monday unanimously
passed a bill that, if approved by the state senate, would make it
illegal to fly drunk. It would also make Pennsylvania one of the
last states in the Union to enact such a law.
"This measure is filling a void in state law that just didn't
address intoxicated pilots," Harper told the Morning Call
Newspaper. "There are 47 other states that have laws against flying
while impaired, and Pennsylvania needs to be on board with
this."
House approval of the measure came five months after authorities
say Pottstown pilot John Salamone flew his Piper Cherokee (file
photo of type, above) to within a quarter mile of the restricted
airspace surrounding the Limerick nuclear plant. At times, he flew
just 100 feet AGL, according to the paper. Controllers say he also
flew within a half-mile of a US Airways commuter flight with 37
people on board.
Prosecutors say the 44-year old Salamone had a blood-alcohol
content of 0.13 after he landed back in Pottstown. He's now
awaiting trial on a charge of reckless endangerment.
In March, a judge in Montgomery County dismissed DUI charges
against Salamone, saying the airspace just isn't the same as a
roadway.
The FAA is done with Salamone after yanking his commercial
certificate. No trial date has been set on the endangerment
charge.
If the Senate passes Harper's flying-while-drunk bill, violators
would face a third-class misdemeanor, 72-hours in jail and fines of
between $1,000 and $5,000. Beyond that, there's a question of just
how far the state can go in prosecuting those who fly drunk.
"Only the federal jurisdiction allows for revoking a license,
and that's not something I can see being handed over to local
police to handle," said AOPA spokesman Chris Dancy. "But I don't
think anyone will challenge a law intended to keep pilots from
flying while intoxicated."