UK Offence Report

Power to prevent aeroplanes flying

article 7(2) of The Air Navigation (Aeroplane and Aeroplane Engine Emission of Unburned Hydrocarbons) Order 1988

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 If the operator or commander of an aeroplane fails without reasonable excuse to comply with

a direction given to him pursuant to paragraph (1) of this article, he shall be guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
an operator
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that an operator meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

2 If the operator or commander of an aeroplane fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given to him pursuant to paragraph (1) of this article, he shall be guilty of an offence.

What would breach article 7(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Air Navigation (Aeroplane and Aeroplane Engine Emission of Unburned Hydrocarbons) Order 1988.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
14 November 1988
In force from
1 January 1989
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

The Order applies to subsonic and supersonic aeroplanes, wherever registered, which are propelled by turbojet or turbofan engines manufactured after 1st January 1989 and which in the case of subsonic aeroplanes are powered by such engines which have a rated output greater than 26.7 kN. It prohibits such aeroplanes from landing or taking-off in the United Kingdom unless their engines are of a type which has been certified as complying with the requirements for the emission of unburned hydrocarbons (article 4). The CAA are to certify a type of engine if it is of the opinion that it complies with the Standards set out in Schedule 2 to the Order. Certification by the CAA shall be evidenced by a declaration to that effect in the Official Record of the CAA. The competent authority of a Contracting State to the Chicago Convention or of another country which in the opinion of the Secretary of State applies standards equivalent to those applied by the CAA may certify engines for the purposes of the Order. The Official Record of the CAA and the publication British Civil Airworthiness Requirements Section M Emissions Certification—Issue 1 dated 1st May 1986, as amended by CAA Blue Paper M 847 to be issued on 1st January 1989, referred to in article 2, can be purchased from the Civil Aviation Authority, Greville House, 37 Gratton Road, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 2BN.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source