Regarding the story titled “Bozeman Couple Apologizes for Helicopter in Bob Marshall Wilderness.”
“Sara and Sam Schwerin said they believed they had landed outside the wilderness boundary.” If, with current GPS navigation technology, Sara and Sam Schwerin didn’t know exactly where they were landing they probably have no business flying any aircraft above anyone anywhere at anytime! Knowing exactly where you are in U.S. airspace is critically important for public safety, therefor, airspace rules must be followed at all times, period! The Federal Aviation Administration needs to look into this egregious, illegal breach of regulated airspace and determine if either of them are qualified to be pilot in command. The pilot is solely responsible for actions taken during each flight. Witnesses saw the aircraft on the ground in a place that is illegal for it to be. Airspace rules had to be broken for them to be where they were. They now must be thoroughly investigated and if the alleged airspace breach is proven to be true, at least one Schwerin must be prosecuted. On the other hand, if they really knew where they were and decided to illegally bust airspace rules by flying over the Bob Marshall Wilderness area under 2,000 feet above ground level just to go fishing, the people in charge must pay the price of breaking FAA regulations.
How safe would flying be if all pilots decided to break FAA regulations and do whatever we want to? I believe the Schwerins must be made an example of to prevent this from becoming the norm in our pristine wilderness areas.
Keith Blaylock
Whitefish