Investigations
Maryland Man Sentenced For Flying Without a Pilot's Certificate Involving a Crash Landing
Summary
On June 17, 2015, Randolph Lee Beauchamp pleaded guilty and on June 24 he was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Baltimore, Maryland, for flying without a pilot's certificate. He received three years’ probation and was ordered to forfeit $4,364 to the United States, representing his interest in the Piper PA-28-140 aircraft he used to commit the offense.
On May 4, 2014, Beauchamp flew his plane from Hanover County Municipal Airport, Virginia, to Maryland, without an active medical certificate and valid pilot's certificate. His airplane ran out of fuel and he made an emergency landing in a field short of the Ocean City-Wicomico Regional Airport, Salisbury, Maryland. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requested OIG's assistance after the crash when it was discovered that his FAA airman's certificate was revoked in 2012 due to several alcohol related driving offenses.
We are conducting this investigation with assistance from the FAA.