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."

FMI: www.legis.state.pa.us