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The Only Way To Fly ...

By John Mesirow

Forget about flying first class. Men may soon be asking for "Martz" class. Why? Pilot Martz was flying a helicopter while receiving oral sex from a porn actress! How do we know this? It's on video! ("The video shows the woman disrobing before engaging Martz in a sex act while the San Diego landscape is passing by the [ahem] cockpit windows," as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.)

In his defense (in filings relating to his pilot's license) Martz "... said ... that the video showed he had his hands on the flight controls while receiving oral sex." Shazam! I guess if you're going to fight it, you have to offer something up. So what happened?

[The] judge has upheld the revocation of the license ...

Is there any future (in flying) for Mr. Martz?

[He] ... will have to reapply for his license next year when the revocation ends.

Did his past record play a part? Perhaps ...

Martz is a commercial pilot with a history of FAA violations, including two license suspensions and two revocations going back to the 1980s.

Furthermore...

Lawyers for the federal agency argued Martz's conduct was careless and reckless. His attention was diverted from flying; the woman's position prevented him from reaching flight controls; and she could have caused him physical harm that would have precluded him from operating the helicopter, according to Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman.

And, um, you've read Martz's defense. [Also, "Martz has argued that since the 2005 incident, he served a suspension last year on an unrelated matter and had corrected any defects in his flying skills."] ?Hence, careless and recklessness cannot be made as a finding of fact,? according to Martz's filing.

Um, yes, they can. The end? Not necessarily. "Martz can appeal the ruling to the NTSB."

Full post as published by Legal Juice on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).