‘Aviation outlaw’ took plane held together with tape on joy ride in Virginia, feds say
A 31-year-old man from Virginia will serve more than a year in prison after prosecutors said he took an unfinished plane on a joy ride.
Ryan Guy Parker was sentenced Friday to one year and two months with credit for time served, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia said. He pleaded guilty to flying without a license in January, court filings show, and has been in jail since.
“On September 27, 2018, witnesses on the ground expressed concern while filming the defendant flying an aircraft that was literally duct-taped together and constructed with incorrect parts,” prosecutors said in court documents. “He flew this unfit-to-fly aircraft in dangerous weather conditions and without a license over a fuel depot, among other buildings, before attempting to land.”
One witness reportedly told investigators it “would be like a bomb going off at the airport” if Parker had hit the fuel tanks.
A public defender appointed to represent Parker did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Friday. But he said in court filings that Parker should be sentenced to time served, citing a history of substance abuse and mental health issues.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Parker took a T-Bird plane out in the middle of the afternoon at Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in front of at least five witnesses.
Parker reportedly used to run a plane washing business out of the airport called “Outlaw Aviation” and he’d been hired by the owner to assemble the plane — but it wasn’t finished.
“At the time of the flight, the airplane had a caster rear wheel, a plastic bicycle water bottle for radiator overflow, and duct tape on key parts of the aircraft,” prosecutors said.
One witness described it as a “bucket of bolts.”
Parker flew the plane for 10 to 15 minutes, flying as low as 50 feet and dangerously close to tanks containing 18,000 gallons of fuel, according to the affidavit. Prosecutors said it was also raining with thick cloud cover. When he finally landed, Parker reportedly lost control of the plane.
“As one would expect to happen when an unlicensed pilot attempts to land an aircraft held together by duct tape and caster wheels, the aircraft bounced upon touching the ground before spinning out 180 degrees,” prosecutors said in sentencing documents. “In essence, the defendant was flying like an outlaw.”
Parker then tried to lie about testing the T-Bird on the taxi when the fuel throttle got stuck and he was “forced to take off,” they said.
Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Parker in February 2020, court documents show. He was arrested and released more than a month later. Parker’s defense attorney said he was largely compliant with the conditions of his release while living in a group home and was only brought back to jail after he got caught smoking pot.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, had pushed for a prison sentence of two and a half years, saying Parker had five prior felony convictions and “a demonstrable history of brazenly doing what he wants despite locked doors, locked aircraft, federal laws, and court orders.”
The judge ultimately settled on a 14-month sentence with credit for the more than four months Parker has already served. He also ordered Parker to serve one year of supervised release and participate in substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Parker is not allowed “at any airport for any reason” without permission from his parole officer, the judge said, nor should he be employed at airports or work in aviation.
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