Pilot who blamed crash on prosthetic leg gets weeks in jail

SUFFOLK, Va. – An unlicensed pilot who blamed his plane crash on his prosthetic leg has been sentenced to two weeks in jail.

Robert Gray Jr. pleaded guilty in December to flying without a license. Authorities had repeatedly warned him not to fly.

The Virginian-Pilots reports the U.S. Department of Transportation launched an investigation of Gray in 2016 after receiving a tip he was flying without a license.

Investigators spoke to him again in 2017 about another incident. The following month, Gray crashed as he tried to land a 1972 Piper aircraft at Umphlett Airstrip in Suffolk. He was not hurt.

Grey told an FAA inspector he had no feeling on his right side and suggested his prosthetic leg became stuck in the brake, causing it to spin out.

He was sentenced Friday.

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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com