A novice private pilot was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $5,000.00 by the Department of Homeland Security for returning from Canada over forty-five minutes later than his declared arrival time on his flight plan.
A novice private pilot was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $5,000.00 by the Department of Homeland Security for returning from Canada over forty-five minutes later than his declared arrival time on his flight plan. By using weather data from NAV Canada, we proved that the pilot’s delay was due purely to bad weather along the pilot’s route of travel, and was not due to the pilot’s negligence or inexperience. Based on this, Homeland Security dropped the penalty.
