Banned pilot given second chance after appealing CASA ruling

A pilot who lost his licence after attempting to fly to the US without a flight plan has a second chance to return to the skies.

Banned pilot Martin Grima has a second chance to return to the skies.

A pilot who lost his licence after attempting to fly to the US without a flight plan has won a second chance to return to the skies.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority cancelled Martin Grima’s private pilot licence in 2016 after determining he was not a fit and proper person to operate an aircraft. The decision followed two incidents — one in which he flew to Norfolk Island with the intention of continuing on to the US, and another where he allegedly piloted a plane to Maryborough, Queensland, with two wanted criminals on board.

A review of the decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was told Mr Grima was detained by police and CASA on Norfolk Island on September 9, 2015, after landing a US-registered Piper Aerostar 600 twin-engine aeroplane. He told authorities he was flying to the US to sell the Aerostar despite having lodged no flight plan for the multisector trip.

CASA submitted there were “several matters of concern in relation to the applicant’s flight to Norfolk Island which indicate ‘dangerous overconfidence, lack of judgment and a willingness to mislead CASA officers’.”

Australian Federal Police officer Daniel Pyle said Mr Grima, now 29, had not told Customs of his intention to leave Australia.

In regards to the Maryborough incident, the tribunal heard Mr Grima was allegedly the pilot of a PA30 Piper twin-engine aircraft that flew from Camden in NSW on September 21, 2015. On board were Michael Salma and brothers Ziad and Rabih Jneid.

At the time, the Jneid brothers were wanted by police in Western Australia for skipping bail, and are now serving prison sentences for drug-related crimes.

The tribunal found that Mr Grima’s evidence about the Maryborough flight and how he came to be involved was “to say the very least, very odd”.

Despite the findings, Ms Poljak set aside CASA’s decision to cancel Mr Grima’s licence and instead imposed a range of orders he would be required to fulfil to regain his licence.

They included a minimum of 15-hours remedial flying training, a CASA-supervised flight test, and a psychological evaluation.

“It is plain from the evidence, and CASA accepts, that the applicant is young, hard-working and has displayed an eagerness to get ahead in life,” read Ms Poljak’s ruling.

“He clearly has a passion for flying and has invested a large amount of his time and financial resources with the aim of one day pursuing flying as a livelihood.”

Mr Grima and CASA declined to comment on the ruling.