Donald Trump Could Go to Prison for 3 Years Because of His Plane
But of course he won't.
We all have to deal with bureaucratic annoyances. We pay our taxes, we replace our expired licenses, we register to vote. Even billionaire, curiously-hued presidential candidates do these boring tasks, right? Not if you're Donald Trump.
The New York Times reports that Trump's Cessna has been flying all over the campaign trail with an expired registration:
Records kept with the Federal Aviation Administration show the aircraft's registration lapsed on Jan. 31. Laura J. Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, confirmed that the plane's registration was not in good standing and said the owner had not renewed it.
Think of it this way: you probably don't have your own jet, but if you got pulled over in your car with expired registration, you'd get in trouble! Now, a plane is a far more regulated and intense means of transportation. However, since marginalizing entire races and genders somehow hasn't ended Trump's campaign, flying with an unregistered plane certainly won't. But he could still get in some trouble:
The F.A.A. could also fine or assess other penalties against the owner and/or operator; Mr. Trump owns the plane through a limited liability company. Though it is unlikely that the F.A.A. would seek the maximum penalty, flying with no registration could result in a civil penalty of up to $27,500, a criminal fine of up to $250,000 and imprisonment for up to three years, the agency said.
Why doesn't Trump take one of his four other registered aircraft—a Boeing 757 and three Sikorsky helicopters? Well, the Boeing, which he likes to show off at rallies, actually weighs too much to land at most airports, so he's been using the Cessna.
Trump does a lot of unfortunate things we'd never expect. Here, get intimately acquainted with one of Trump's allegedly legal aircrafts.