Jail for fireworks air alert man
A landscaper who launched fireworks in the direction of passenger planes landing at Edinburgh Airport has been jailed for two months.
Peter Crane, 20, had directed fireworks from his back garden into the path of air traffic on 29 October, 2004.
He pleaded guilty to reckless conduct by placing pilots, air crew and passengers in potential danger.
Sheriff Isabella McColl told Crane the public had witnessed "the horror" of plane crashes on television.
She said: "This situation was considered by the pilots to involve a live possibility of danger.
I therefore consider a custodial sentence should be imposed as a deterrent to others. My personal view is that this was a very serious matter."
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how air traffic controllers noticed the rockets exploding from about 1930 GMT on 29 October for several hours until police detained Crane at his home in Riverside, Newbridge.
'Grossly irresponsible'
The exploding rockets could have harmed the landing gear or wiring of the planes, or disturbed the pilots' concentration, the court was told.
Defence agent Alan Jackson said Crane had simply purchased the "cheapest" fireworks from a supermarket and did not know how high they would go.
Crane had lit the fuses in his garden and the fireworks had exploded in intervals, but he had not deliberately targeted the planes, Mr Jackson said.
He added that Crane would now get permission before holding any other firework displays in his garden.
BAA spokesperson Malcolm Robertson said it regarded any behaviour of the kind which places aircraft and communities at danger as "grossly irresponsible".
He added that the flights on the night in question would have been a combination of international and domestic.
A landscaper who launched fireworks in the direction of passenger planes landing at Edinburgh Airport has been jailed for two months.
Peter Crane, 20, had directed fireworks from his back garden into the path of air traffic on 29 October, 2004.
He pleaded guilty to reckless conduct by placing pilots, air crew and passengers in potential danger.
Sheriff Isabella McColl told Crane the public had witnessed "the horror" of plane crashes on television.
She said: "This situation was considered by the pilots to involve a live possibility of danger.
I therefore consider a custodial sentence should be imposed as a deterrent to others. My personal view is that this was a very serious matter."
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how air traffic controllers noticed the rockets exploding from about 1930 GMT on 29 October for several hours until police detained Crane at his home in Riverside, Newbridge.
'Grossly irresponsible'
The exploding rockets could have harmed the landing gear or wiring of the planes, or disturbed the pilots' concentration, the court was told.
Defence agent Alan Jackson said Crane had simply purchased the "cheapest" fireworks from a supermarket and did not know how high they would go.
Crane had lit the fuses in his garden and the fireworks had exploded in intervals, but he had not deliberately targeted the planes, Mr Jackson said.
He added that Crane would now get permission before holding any other firework displays in his garden.
BAA spokesperson Malcolm Robertson said it regarded any behaviour of the kind which places aircraft and communities at danger as "grossly irresponsible".
He added that the flights on the night in question would have been a combination of international and domestic.