Airport worker with no license takes plane for spin near D.C., almost crashes, feds say
A Virginia man piloted at least one plane without a license in 2018, in a dangerous journey that ended with a "bounced" landing, federal authorities said.
Ryan Guy Parker "knowingly and willfully" flew above suburban Washington D.C., posing a "significant risk of injury and death" to himself and the public, according to an affidavit by U.S. Department of Transportation Special Agent Bret Stolle.
In a Sept. 27, 2018 trip out of Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, Parker nearly crashed on touch down, Stolle wrote.
"Parker bounced the airplane on landing and spun out," according to the agent's affidavit.
Parker is described in the affidavit as once operating an aircraft washing business at Shannon Airport known as Outlaw Aviation.
"Multiple witnesses stated the weather and poor visibility that day made conditions too unsafe," Stolle wrote.
Furthermore, that plane was in poor working condition, according to the affidavit, with one witness calling the craft "a bucket of bolts." The craft's tail number, as listed in the court document, corresponded to a Teratorn Tierra II, according to the FAA registry.
Investigators also linked Parker to another possible, unauthorized flight — aboard a Piper Tomahawk — on Sept. 2, 2018. That alleged journey was out of Stafford Regional Airport, also in Fredericksburg, though Parker is only being charged for the alleged Sept. 27 journey.
It wasn't immediately clear how many flights prosecutors believe Parker might have taken without a license.
Parker's defense lawyer and representatives of federal prosecutors and the Department of Transportation could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday.
