I have zero knowledge of what actually happened, but I note that if DJ had been pursued for a contravention of section 20A, there would have been a very inconvenient consequence for the people who had an interest in a nice neat bow being tied around a closed ‘Only The Pilot Was To Blame’ file.
The owner and the operator would have been automatically liable as well, as they permitted him to operate the aircraft: Section 29(3).
PS: The attachment to Mr White's letter is mistaken in this regard. Section 20A doesn't make anything an offence.
Last edited by Creampuff; 20th Jan 2014 at 22:13.