John Salamone Will Spend Up To Nine Years In Prison

A Pottstown, PA, man who embarked upon a long and sometimes dangerous flight while drunk was sentenced Tuesday. John Salamone will spend up to nine years behind bars.

Salamone was convicted of flying his Piper Cherokee (file photo of type, below) on a four hour jaunt that saw him illegally penetrate the controlled airspace around Philadelphia International Airport, coming dangerously close to at least six other aircraft. Prosecutors also contended that Salamone, 44, flew so close to the Limerick Nuclear Power Plant that the facility's operators briefly considered shutting it down.

But Salamone wasn't convicted of flying drunk -- even though prosecutors said his blood alcohol content was .15 percent, almost twice the legal limit. That's because there's no law under which he could be prosecuted. Instead, Salamone was charged with reckless endangerment and risking a catastrophe. His sentence was to spend between 23 months and nine years in prison and undergo alcoholism counseling.

The Pennsylvania Legislature this year set out to correct what they saw as an oversight by enacting a Flying While Intoxicated law. As ANN reported yesterday, that measure is now awaiting Governor Ed Rendell's signature.

FMI: www.legis.state.pa.us