General News
25 September, 2023
Man fined over chopper landing
A man has been fined $500 for landing a helicopter at the Avoca Primary School — with the pilot’s defence counsel describing his actions as “foolish”. Fronting the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court last week, the man received a diversion for the...
A man has been fined $500 for landing a helicopter at the Avoca Primary School — with the pilot’s defence counsel describing his actions as “foolish”.
Fronting the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court last week, the man received a diversion for the case — which is a means for low-level offenders to potentially avoid a criminal record by handling the matter outside the court’s system.
According to Fairfax Media, Scott Belcher, the pilot’s lawyer, said that his client’s actions constituted an act of “flamboyant stupidity” and he would take responsibility for the event by accepting a diversion.
Mr Belcher also stated that while the facts relating to the matter were undisputed, the laws around his client’s actions were not clear — the man had landed his helicopter previously in the area without any issues, the Fairfax Media article reported.
The man was instructed by Magistrate Hugh Radford to pay a $500 fine to the Avoca Primary School and was also placed on a three month good behaviour bond with the condition to not commit any further offences.