Gardener Jailed for Firing Rockets as Jets Try to Land at Edinburgh Airport

A MAN who recklessly fired rockets into the flight path of passenger aircraft approaching Edinburgh airport was jailed for three months yesterday.

Several pilots circling the airport as they prepared to land on a busy Friday evening in October 2004 found themselves in the middle of a fireworks display that put themselves, their crew and passengers in danger.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that some anxious pilots radioed Air Traffic Control to report that they were being fired at. They claimed rockets were exploding all around them and that some had only narrowly missed aircraft. Far below, Peter Crane, 20, a landscape gardener, was hosting a Hallowe'en party with fireworks in the garden of his home in Newbridge, outside Edinburgh.

Although he lived beneath a flight path used by the airport, it did not occur to him that he was putting lives in danger, his lawyer said. He also denied that he had been intentionally firing at aircraft. Yesterday Crane pleaded guilty to reckless conduct by placing pilots, air crew and passengers in potential danger on October 29, 2004.

Sheriff Isabella McColl told him: "We have all seen the horror on television of scenes where planes have crashed. This situation was considered by the pilots to involve a live possibility of danger. I therefore consider a custodial sentence should be imposed as a deterrent to others. My personal view is that this was a very serious matter."

Malcolm Stewart, for the prosecution, explained that the exploding rockets not only risked distracting the pilots but could also have harmed landing gear or wiring on the aircraft. "There was not only an actual risk of damage but a risk of the pilots being distracted by the noise or sudden flash which could have affected their night vision at this very crucial time," he said. "Because the passenger planes travel at 130mph, the margin of error is very small and these were the highest category of rockets that can be legally sold to the public."

The court was told that it was only when wind blew from the east that aircraft made their final descent to the runway by crossing directly above Crane's home, which is about two miles from the airport. According to the defence, fireworks displays were a regular occurrence in Crane's neighbourhood around Guy Fawkes Night, and there had never been any problems before.

However, it is illegal to set off fireworks around airports because of the obvious danger they pose and any display nearby must have permission from the Civil Aviation Authority at least 28 days in advance.

Air Traffic Control first noticed the explosions lighting up the night sky at around 7.30pm. They started to warn crews of the hazard and one pilot reported back: "If the last firework had happened a second later we would have been very close to it." Police were alerted and Crane was detained later that night.

Alan Jackson, for the defence, said that Crane had bought the cheapest fireworks he could find and was unaware how high they would go. Mr Jackson said that Crane lit the fuses and the fireworks had exploded in intervals, but he had not deliberately targeted the aircraft nor realised the danger. Malcolm Robertson, a spokesman for the British Airports Authority, said: "We regard any behaviour of the kind which places aircraft and communities at danger as grossly irresponsible." He added that the flights that night would have been a combination of international and shuttle.

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