A Westlock-area man has been fined $2,300 and ordered to complete a pilot-safety course after the airplane he was flying apparently struck two people on the ground.
Adam C. Giesbrecht, 31, appeared in Westlock Provincial Court Nov. 5, and pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing bodily harm by operating an aircraft in a manner dangerous to the public. The charge comes under section 269 of the Criminal Code, and is obscure enough that Judge Marilyn White had to look it up before accepting the plea.
Giesbrecht had initially been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and was scheduled for a preliminary hearing but instead entered the plea to unlawfully causing bodily harm.
Crown prosecutor Jeffrey Martin said the charge stems from an incident on Sept. 26, 2013. Giesbrecht and the complainant had discussed an aerial photo shoot of the complainant’s farm, and at about 2:30 p.m. Giesbrecht and two other individuals were on the farm for the photo shoot.
Giesbrecht started the plane, and told the other two to drive his truck to the end of the strip he would be taking off from. The two were kneeling approximately one foot away from the truck. Giesbrecht made three passes without incident.
“On the fourth flyover, the wing came close to the ground,” Martin said.
One of the individuals was struck by something, causing a cut on her face, while the complainant was struck by something that broke his forearm.
“He saw his arm was all purple, and flagged Mr. Giesbrecht down,” Martin said.
White asked what, exactly, had struck the two.
“It’s not clear,” Martin replied. “From the file it seems like a portion of the wing.”
Giesbrecht told her he believed a piece of fiberglass may have come off the wing, and that was what struck the two.
Martin said there is no prior criminal record to speak of, but noted the severity of the incident should not be discounted and in other similar cases, sentences have included jail time.
“In these types of circumstances, it’s very fortune; there would have been a fatality here,” he said.
Martin suggested a fine of $2,000 and a one-year probation order would be appropriate.
Defence lawyer Greg Properzi said he agreed with Martin’s sentencing submission, adding Giesbrecht has been a pilot since 2001 and has several years of experience crop dusting.
“He’s never been in any trouble before, either with the law or as a pilot,” he said.
Properzi said civil proceedings are ongoing in relation to this incident, and noted guilty plea is in relation to the complainant with the broken arm, and not in relation to the cut on the other bystander’s face.
White accepted the amount of the fine the two lawyers had suggested, adding a $300 victim fine surcharge for a total of $2,300, but shortened the period of probation to just three months.
As part of the probation, Giesbrecht will be required to complete a pilot safety course at his own expense, and is ordered to have no contact with the named complainant except through legal counsel.
