Pennsylvania Drunk Flying Law Vetoed...

[FN FAL]

Hehehehe.

Convicted pilot appeals sentence to Superior Court
Airlinerswerediverted during drunken flight by Philadelphia airport.

By Pamela Lehman
Of The Morning Call

A Pottstown pilot convicted of risking a catastrophe for a drunken flight that buzzed the towers of a nuclear power plant is appealing his county prison sentence to state Superior Court.

John Salamone, 44, was convicted in November of reckless endangerment and risking a catastrophe for a four-hour flight in a single-engine plane that sent Philadelphia International Airport controllers scrambling and diverted airliners.

Salamone was sentenced in November to six to 23 months in prison.

Montgomery County Judge Bernard Moore gave Salamone five years of probation, fined him $2,500 and ordered him to undergo outpatient alcohol treatment.

The appeal to the sentence was filed late Wednesday afternoon by Salamone's attorney, Joseph Green of West Chester.

No reason was given for the appeal, according to court documents. Green could not be reached Thursday.

Assistant District Attorney John Gradel said Green will be required to detail why he is filing the appeal.

''I'm confident the conviction will survive any appeal,'' Gradel said.

At the sentencing, Moore called Salamone's behavior ''outrageous'' and ''reprehensible'' for endangering more than 200 people aboard the diverted flights and many people on the ground.

Salamone is eligible for work release. He began serving his prison sentence Dec. 7.

During the Jan. 15 flight, Salamone erratically changed altitudes and flight speeds, according to Assistant District Attorney John Gradel.

Salamone was playing a game of chicken with airliners, Gradel said.

When he landed at Pottstown-Limerick Airport, Salamone's blood-alcohol ratio was 0.13 percent. In Pennsylvania, drivers are presumed guilty of drunken driving at 0.08 percent.

Salamone's blood also tested positive for Valium.

Salamone has admitted he has a drinking problem, Green said during the sentencing.

Salamone has been convicted twice of drunken driving and has had more than 20 license suspensions.

At one point his driver's license was suspended for 13 straight years.

This month Salamone fought to claim money from the sale of his airplane that was seized by the county.

Moore hasn't ruled in that case.

Green argued the government has no right to keep the $34,000 from the sale of the aircraft. Prosecutors said they should keep the money because Salamone used the airplane while committing a crime.

A bill crafted after Salamone's arrest that would make it illegal to fly under the influence of drugs or alcohol was vetoed by Gov. Ed Rendell this month.

Republican Rep. Catherine Harper of Montgomery County said she will introduce a new version of the bill in January.

 

[350DRIVER]

He is from Pottstown, heard they do things a tad different there.

3 5 0

 

[Corona]

Glad the guv vetoed this one.

These frickin states (and municipalities) have been going overboard trying to usurp Federal authority over aviation since 9/11.

There are plenty of reasons aviation is Federally regulated, and they are all good ones.

That being said, this guy needs to go away for a long, long time.

C

 

[FN FAL]

Glad the guv vetoed this one.

These frickin states (and municipalities) have been going overboard trying to usurp Federal authority over aviation since 9/11.

There are plenty of reasons aviation is Federally regulated, and they are all good ones.

That being said, this guy needs to go away for a long, long time.

C

I think they figured out that if they open this can of worms it will bring more trouble than it's worth. They got their felony reckless endagerment charges to stick...the law they were going to pass only was a misdemeanor and had a maximum of 72 hours in the county clink and a fine. Really? Do they need to come up with some new state law that has the word airplane in it?

Open the intrastate v. interstate can of worms...I triple dare em. Besides, you know how dangerous planes are that are flown by dem dere private pilots...maybe pennslyvania outta pass a law that all pilots who fly at night or in instrument conditions, "must hold a commercial pilot's certificate".