Despite Calls for a Stiff Sentence, Idaho Crop Duster Shooter Gets Slap on Wrist

An Idaho judge didn’t exactly throw the book at Christopher V. Lewis during the sentencing hearing for the convicted crop duster shooter, choosing to forgo jail time in favor of three years of supervised probation. Despite calls from a range of voices within aviation and agriculture for a stiff sentence to send a message that shooting at an ag aircraft is a criminal act that won’t be tolerated, Judge Randy Stoker opted to publicly shame—and attempt to rehabilitate—Lewis by requiring the convicted felon to fulfill a series of court-ordered stipulations in exchange for his freedom. Among the wrist-rapping penalties ordered by the judge, the Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News reports, Lewis must:

• Write a letter of apology to the ag pilot he fired shots at with a 10-gauge shotgun.
• Purchase a half-page ad in a Sunday edition of the Times-News explaining what he did and why shooting at an airplane is wrong.
• Develop a program he must present at six youth hunter safety courses explaining “the error of his ways.”
• Enroll in “Moral Reconation Therapy,” a treatment strategy that seeks to decrease recidivism among juvenile and adult criminal offenders by increasing moral reasoning.

If Lewis fails to live up to the terms of his probation, the judge promised to sentence him to five to 10 years in prison. “You violate my probation in any material respect, you’re doing five years of fixed time in Boise,” Stoker admonished Lewis, according to the Times-News.

“I want this to be a deterrence to others who might have the idiotic thinking that you have,” the judge added. The sentence is disappointing to NAAA and others within the agricultural aviation industry who were hoping Lewis would receive jail time from the start. Concerned that Lewis would get off with a slap on the wrist, NAAA member George Parker III of Crop Jet Aviation in Gooding, Idaho, organized a letter-writing campaign seeking a stiff sentence for Lewis. Parker gathered letters from individual operators and growers, NAAA, Idaho AAA, AOPA and other aviation and agricultural groups in effort to illustrate the gravity of the shooting to the judge. He then turned the letters—18 in all—over to the prosecuting attorney in the case. Click here to read NAAA’s letter to Judge Stoker.

 

Last night Parker expressed his disappointment with the ruling on Facebook while taking solace that the letter-writing campaign was not all for naught. Even though the judge rejected the letters, Parker feels the letters had an overall positive effect and should help if another aircraft shooting incident occurs in Idaho in the future. “The prosecutor gained a whole new understanding of the gravity of an aircraft shooting case and we believe will treat them different in the future … I feel as though it would have been handled differently from the beginning if it was understood as it is now by their office. The prosecutor did end up asking for 3–5 years jail time,” Parker wrote on Facebook.

  

NAAA President Leif Isaacson, who is also an aerial applicator in Idaho, was prepared to testify on the industry’s behalf at the sentencing hearing, but the judge would only allow the victim and eyewitnesses in the case to testify. NAAA applauds Parker for his efforts in pursuit of a proper sentence in the case of the Idaho crop duster shooter. Jail time or not, a contrite Lewis assured the court, “I know there’s concern from the community that pilots are in danger because of my actions. They’re safe to do their job. This will never happen again.”

WA, CO Pass MET Tower Marking Bills; OK Bill Vetoed

As reported on March 20, several states have made significant strides in establishing visibility requirements for low-level towers, with Washington and Colorado completing their efforts. Unfortunately, Oklahoma’s governor, Mary Fallin, vetoed the state’s bill that passed overwhelmingly in both houses of the Oklahoma legislature.

 

Gov. Jay Inslee signs SB-6054, Washington State’s tower marking legislation. Surrounding Gov. Inslee from left to right are Rep. Brian Blake, Chair of the House Ag Committee; Mark Doumit, Executive Director of Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA); Rep. Ed Orcutt of the House Transportation Committee (Ranking Minority Member); AWAA Executive Secretary Erin Morse with Magdalene Morse; AWAA President Gavin Morse; and John Erenrich, WFPA

The Aeronautic Safety Bill, SB-6054, was signed into law by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on March 28. The measure was backed by the Association of Washington Aerial Applicators (AWAA) and shepherded through the legislature by the bill sponsor, Sen. Jim Honeyford with the help of AWAA President Gavin Morse, and AWAA lobbyist Heather Hansen.

 

The law is one of the strictest in the nation, requiring most guy-wired towers over 25 feet to be marked and lighted. The penalty for noncompliance with the new law is a misdemeanor, punishable by a minimum 24-hour jail sentence and $250 fine on the first offense. Other organizations supporting the bill included the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Washington Pilots Association (WPA). Additional details can be found in AWAA’s press release here.

 

In an effort spearheaded by the Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association (CoAAA), and with help from the National Transportation Safety Board, both houses cleared Colorado’s tower marking bill last week. The bill is now slated to be signed next Saturday, May 17, in a signing ceremony by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The measure requires all towers between 50 and 100 feet to be marked with aviation orange and white, balls, and cable sleeves, and violators would be guilty of a Class 2 Misdemeanor, with a penalty of 3-12 months in county jail and/or a fine up to $1,000. NAAA congratulates CoAAA Executive Director Jessica Freeman and the Colorado association for their hard fought victory in enacting this legislation.

 

In Oklahoma, however, the outcome of tower marking legislation was disheartening as Gov. Mary Fallin chose to veto such a bill passed by the state legislature. The bill was authored by Sen. Charles Wyrick (D-Fairland), whose son is an aerial applicator and who authored the bill following the tragic accident in Oklahoma last season that resulted in an ag aviator’s death. The bill would have required the marking of MET towers over 50 feet effective Nov.1, punishable by a $100-per-day fine until the owner of the tower complied with the bill’s requirements.

 

Fallin said in her veto message in regards to Senate Bill 1195 that the marking process could better be handled through “administrative rule making and civil remedies, rather than through criminal penalties… Anemometer towers are appropriately regulated through Airport Zoning Act and the Aircraft Pilot and Passenger Protection Act.” However, the explanatory statement accompanying the bill stated clearly that these two acts could not be used because they explicitly pertain to airports and not all lands.

 

Some in the state legislature believe it may be possible to override the veto, as the bill passed with an overwhelming majority, however it’s currently unclear which course of action the bill’s sponsors plan to take. NAAA will continue to follow this issue.

AIG Now Underwriting UAVs

Agricultural aviation insurance underwriter AIG is now offering unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) insurance for the exposures facing operators of remotely piloted, semi-autonomous and fully autonomous aircraft. According to AIG’s UAV insurance brochure, its UAV coverage “provides broad physical damage and third party liability coverage, explicitly designed for the exposures of unmanned aircraft.” The AIG brochure also states that UAVs are “expected to contribute $82.1 billion to the nation’s economy by agriculture, public safety and other activities.” According to an NAAA member insurance broker, AIG and Global Aerospace are the two only providers of UAV insurance today.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration has explicitly stated that any commercial use (a use that leads to a monetary gain) of a UAV would be illegal.

 

Meanwhile, NAAA urges aerial applicators throughout the country to be aware that UAV operations—whether legal or illegal—are occurring. NAAA urges aerial application operators to be on the lookout and in communication with their farmer-customers to identify if they will be operating UAVs or if they know of others that might be and to report any near-miss, unsafe or illegal UAV operations to the FAA and to NAAA headquarters. The collection of such information is the only way to show the FAA that safety equipment such as ADS-B position broadcasting technology and strobe-lighting should be standard equipment on UAVs before they can be safely integrated into U.S. airspace. The FAA is expected to release a proposed rule for UAVs weighing less than 55 pounds by year’s end.