I liked the comment that it was only "sheer luck" that there had been no collision. Apparently see and avoid becomes impossible once you've established Class D airspace.
The reason collisions don't occur is because of layered safeguards. Each one is like a leaky bucket, but the small amount that leaks though one layer becomes miniscule after two of three more layers. Its ridiculous to believe that busting airspace leads directly to collision. What an unbelievably unsophisticated opinion.
Speaking as somebody who flies in controlled airspace almost continuously, I think an appropriate punishment for this violation is mandatory retraining, re-passing the relevant check ride, no fine.
Last edited by Silvaire1; 19th Apr 2013 at 17:22.