A pilot who was found with marijuana edibles on board his plane lost his bid to regain his pilot’s license at the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday (March 5).
Jeffrey Siegel, a private pilot, was flying a single-engine airplane with his girlfriend in 2016 when he experienced engine trouble and made an emergency landing on a road in Kansas. At the scene, investigators discovered a briefcase on the plane containing three THC-infused chocolate bars.
The Federal Aviation Administration revoked Siegel’s pilot’s license under a federal regulation that prohibits anyone from flying an airplane with knowledge that a controlled substance, including marijuana, is on board. Siegel challenged the penalty, arguing that the chocolate bars belonged to his girlfriend and that he did not know they were in the briefcase. He also argued that revocation of his license was too severe a punishment given the small amount of drugs and the fact that they had been purchased legally in Colorado.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled against Siegel, and on appeal in Siegel v. Administrator of the FAA, the D.C. Circuit upheld the board’s ruling. In a blunt opinion, Judge Sentelle (joined by Judges Srinivasan and Katsas) wrote that, although the edibles are legal in Colorado, that does not change the fact that “marijuana is illegal under federal law and in federal airspace.” The court then delved into some statutory weeds and explained that Congress gave FAA the authority to revoke pilots’ licenses even for minor drug offenses like possession of a small amount of marijuana.
But Siegel will not necessarily be grounded forever. Under FAA regulations, pilots whose licenses are revoked can apply for a new license after one year.
