Dangerous flying

(1) Where an aircraft is flown in such a manner as to be the cause of unnecessary danger to any person or property on land or water or to any other flying person in the aircraft, the pilot or person in charge of the aircraft, and also the owner thereof, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that the aircraft was so flown without his actual fault or privity, commits an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term 38 Civil Aviation Act not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and term of imprisonment. (2) In this section, the expression “owner”, in relation to an aircraft, includes any person by whom the aircraft is hired at the time of the offence. (3) Notwithstanding any other penalty, the Minister may, in the case of a first offence under this section, suspend the pilot’s licence for a period of up to six months, and on a subsequent offence, consider the pilot unfit and permanently revoke his licence.