Endangering the Safety of an Aircraft or Airport

If you cause a disturbance or threaten violence on an aircraft, you can face charges under two pieces of federal legislation. Section 77 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to commit an act of violence in the air that is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft. It also makes it illegal to:

• use a weapon at an airport serving international civil aviationFlights other than those operated by the Canadian enforcement that is likely to cause serious injury;
• cause damage to an aircraft in service that renders the aircraft incapable of flight or endangers the safety of the aircraft in flightThe time from when an aircraft's external doors are closed to when they are opened after landing;
• place or cause to be placed on board an aircraft anything that is likely to cause damage to the aircraft;
• cause damage to or interfere with the operation of any air navigation facility;
• use a weapon, substance or device to cause serious damage to the facilities of an airport serving international civil aviation; or
• endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight by communicating to any other person information that you know to be false.

The Crown attorney also has the option of charging you under s.7.41 (1) of the Aeronautics Act. That section of the Act makes it a crime to engage in unruly or dangerous behaviour that endangers the safety or security of an aircraft in by intentionally:

• interfering with the performance of the duties of any crew member;
• lessening the ability of any crew member to perform that crew member's duties; or
• interfering with any person who is following the instructions of a crew member.

To win a conviction, the Crown needs to prove you were the person causing a disturbance or threatening violence in the air, thereby endangering the safety of the aircraft and all on board. Footage shot by other passengers of the incident can provide that proof, as well as testimony from passengers and air crew members. It also does not matter if the aircraft was in Canadian air space at the time of the incident, as international conventions state that the laws of the country the plane is registered in apply in whatever air space an aircraft is in at the time.

If you have been charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft or airport under the Code, the Crown will prosecute it as an indictable offence, with prison likely upon conviction. If you are charged under the Act with unruly or dangerous behaviour in the air, the Crown can treat that as either an indictable offence or a summary convictionUsed for lesser offences. Summary convictions come with less severe penalties than an indictable offence.

The Criminal Code charge of endangering the safety of an aircraft or airport is always treated as an indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence., with a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life. If you are convicted under the Aeronautics Act of unruly or dangerous behaviour in the air and the charge is treated as an indictable offence, the maximum penalty is a $100,000 fine, a five-year prison term or both. If the charge is prosecuted as a summary conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $25,000, an 18-month jail term or both.