Reckless pilots not federal criminals

The Gazette Editorial Board

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Birds and airplanes don't usually mix very well. Aircraft sometimes kill birds. And birds sometimes damage airplanes - more than 500 aircraft have been damaged by collisions with birds since 2000, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, although crashes resulting in loss of human life are rare.

It's a situation where human technology and Mother Nature clash. Unless we want to give up air travel - shutting down most commercial planes, prohibiting all seaplanes from landing on lakes where birds reside, etc. - there may be no practical way to avoid most of these unintentional close encounters.

However, prosecutors believe a couple of Iowa pilots have taken things too far. They say the Des Moines men are guilty of violating a rarely enforced federal law that prohibits using aircraft for hunting or harassing animals. The penalties for breaking this law: a year in jail and seizure of the planes.

We're skeptical as to whether the potential punishment fits the alleged crime in this case. And the law, as the defense asserts, does seem vague.

Paul Austin and Craig Martin have acknowledged that they were flying low as they passed over Saylorville Lake last fall. The planes, according to an Army Corps of Engineers witness, were about 20 feet above the water at one point, disrupting thousands of white pelicans and other birds. Once the birds settled elsewhere on the lake, the pilots made another low pass, stirring up the birds again.

Reckless piloting? Yes, that seems clear enough as well as deserving of a hefty fine and warning.

But did the pilots deliberately try to harm the birds? Did the creatures sustain “emotional” trauma, as prosecutors claim?

The first accusation is in doubt. As for the second, well, can you prove the birds actually suffered?

These pilots certainly shouldn't get off scott free. There was no good reason to fly so low and risk physical harm to the birds, or to any anglers or boaters who might have been nearby.

Hold these guys accountable, yes - but why make a federal crime out of this incident?

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