Escape from jail card
Perhaps the pilot in question could ask to be tried by 12 of his peers who have not broken the 500 ft rule, maybe the case would be dropped through lack of a jury.
On a serious note perhaps someone can create and post a few situations that would and would not break the 500 ft rule.
As an example if during training you carried out an approach to a landing site in a remote valley and then noticed that there was a footpath with a stile, you then broke off the approach would you have broken the 500 ft rule and would it have been legal to land - ie is the stile and footpath a structure?
regards
Richard