A helicopter pilot who landed on the roof of a midlands shopping centre to collect a set of keys has been given a six-month suspended sentence and fined €5,000.
Sean O'Brien (50), The Island, Ballycumber, Co Offaly, was convicted on ten charges relating to the incident at Athlone in Co Westmeath on July 7th, 2007.
He was released on bail from Athlone District Court last year on condition he did not operate an aircraft.
Judge David Anderson asked whether the defendant, who holds an American pilot's licence, was now in a position to display a knowledge of Irish aviation regulations.
Mr O'Brien replied he had studied the regulations but was unable to afford to attend courses on the subject. He claimed to have been applying "completely different" flying instructions acquired in America at the time of the incident.
"You are telling me in Florida there are no regulations in relation to landing a helicopter on top of a supermarket," asked Judge Anderson.
Admitting he shouldn't have landed in Athlone, or dropped below 1,500 feet in a built up area, Mr O'Brien said: "I would never do that again".
He described his own actions as "dangerous" due to the lack of a designated landing area on the roof of the shopping centre.
Judge Anderson said: "Mr O'Brien still doesn't understand why he shouldn't land on a supermarket". Had there been an accident people could have been "toasted" in a serious fire, the judge explained.
The defendant had displayed "no grasp whatsoever" of the rules. "Common sense, that is where he has difficulty," said Judge Anderson.
Solicitor Tom Madden said his client was a man of "no means" who didn't own the helicopter and is now on disability.
Although there were ten separate charges, Judge Anderson said the one overriding charge was that of "dangerous and negligent" use of a helicopter.
He handed down a six-month suspended sentence and fined the defendant €5,000 on this count while taking the remaining nine charges into consideration.