Had A Previous Conviction Involving Unlawful Activity Pertaining To Aircraft

We've heard variations on this story before... but (thankfully), not in a while.

A five-time previously convicted felon was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for flying an airplane without a pilot’s license.

According to court documents, on September 27, 2018, Ryan Guy Parker, 31, of Fredericksburg, took an airplane at Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg for a joyride.

Parker, who named his business “Outlaw Aviation,” was employed by the airplane’s owner to assemble the plane but had not yet completed the job. At the time of the flight, the airplane had a caster rear wheel, a plastic bicycle water bottle for radiator overflow, and duct tape on key parts of the aircraft.

Despite poor weather conditions, Parker flew just above Shannon Airport’s fuel tanks and twice crossed the airspace used by aircraft on approach to Shannon Airport’s main runway. He flew around the airport for 10 to 15 minutes at a dangerous altitude of around 500 feet. Parker did not possess a pilot’s license at the time of the flight.

“On September 27, 2018, witnesses on the ground expressed concern while filming the defendant flying an aircraft that was literally duct-taped together and constructed with incorrect parts,” prosecutors stated in court documents. “He flew this unfit-to-fly aircraft in dangerous weather conditions and without a license over a fuel depot, among other buildings, before attempting to land.”

According to court documents, the defendant has a lengthy criminal history with five prior felony convictions, including a previous conviction involving unlawful activity pertaining to aircraft. In that case, the defendant was found guilty in the Stafford County Circuit Court for destruction of property and unauthorized use of a vehicle in connection with a separate September 2018 incident that occurred at the Stafford Regional Airport.

On January 22, Parker pleaded guilty to serving as an airman without an airman’s certificate.

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Jamie Mazzone, Mid-Atlantic Region Special Agent-In-Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis, III.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lebowitz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Roberts prosecuted the case.

FMI: www.justice.gov