ELR Citation: ELR 20266
No(s). 00-14516 (11th Cir. Oct 31, 2001)

The court vacates a jury verdict finding an aviation repair station guilty of recklessly causing the transportation of hazardous material in air commerce. The case arose after the 1996 airplane crash in the Florida Everglades. The court first holds that the reckless counts are invalid. The government argued that the repair station should be punished under a criminal penalty provision of the former Federal Aviation Act (FAA) that makes it a crime to recklessly cause hazardous materials to be transported in violation of any regulation or requirement prescribed under the FAA. However, the regulations that the repair station was convicted of recklessly violating were not enacted under the FAA. Rather, the regulations were promulgated under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), which penalizes only willful violations of its regulations. Here, the jury did not find the repair station guilty of willfully violating HMTA regulations. Thus, because the district court improperly relied on the hazardous materials regulations as predicates for the alleged criminal activity, the repair station's convictions on the reckless counts were vacated. The court next holds, however, that there was sufficient evidence presented to the jury on the repair station's willful failure to train. The court, therefore, remands the case for resentencing.

Counsel for Plaintiff
Peter J. Plocki
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 7th St. SW, Washington DC 20024
(202) 366-4000

Counsel for Defendant
Jane S. Raskin
Raskin & Raskin
2937 SW 27th Ave., Ste. 206, Miami FL 33133
(305) 444-3400

Dubina, J. Before Edmondson and Politz,^* JJ.

* Honorable Henry A. Politz, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, sitting by designation.