Pilot fined $2,500 for flyaway plane

Incident may be linked to plane that took off after being started by hand, leaving pilot behind

Insurance News

By Gabriel Olano

Transport Canada has fined an undisclosed pilot $2,500 for an incident that happened the same day a plane took off by itself and crashed at Nipawin, Saskatchewan.
 
The pilot was penalized for three violations of Canadian aviation rules: starting an aircraft engine where precautions were not taken to prevent the aircraft from moving, failing to make proper log entries and operating an aircraft without liability insurance.
 
Authorities said that the incident occurred on the Prairies or northern Canada on March 27, 2015. It was the same date when an Aeronca Chief two-seater plane crashed. The pilot started the plane’s propeller by hand, but he was unable to get inside the plane in time and was left behind. The plane started going forward while unoccupied, eventually achieving takeoff.  
 
The plane crashed shortly later, but according to the police, no one was injured.
 
Transport Canada officials refused to confirm that the $2,500 fine was related to the incident at Nipawin airport, citing privacy reasons.
 

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