Interesting to note the variation in fines and costs ordered in different courts
...only intersting if you have the full facts of each case to hand and can thereby make some sort of value judgement. One assumes the dangerous goods cases are where airlines are carrying materials that haven't been properly packed or documented. Remember the ValueJet DC9 that crashed in the Everglades due to undocumented and illegaly carried cargo. More power to the CAA to prevent a recurrence.
What we need is someone with access to all these cases to give us chapter and verse on the relative merits of each. That would make it more interesting!
I note with particular interest, however, that the most hotly contested case seemed to have involved a motorist airside, not a pilot or an engineer. It seems the Crown Court backed up both the Magistrate's court and the CAA's view that this case was worth persuing.
If you read through the list of occurrences published along with GASCo's magazine, there are pages and pages of infringements and happenings that go unprosecuted. It seems the CAA only use the courts as a last resort to ensure compliance with rules placed for everyone's safety.
Cheers,
TheOddOne