Singapore - An Australian pilot who caused a shutdown of Singapore airspace was fined 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,649 US dollars) Tuesday, but was spared a jail term. Rhys Henry Thomas, 59, said he was relieved and eager to return to Australia where his mother has been hospitalized with a heart attack since February.
He pleaded guilty on Monday to entering Singapore's airspace on January 22 in a Cessna float plane without a valid certificate of airworthiness.
Two Air Force fighters intercepted the plane and forced Thomas to land at Changi Airport, shutting down commercial airspace for 50 minutes.
Judge Danielle Yeow ordered Thomas, from West Australia, to pay the maximum fine without going to jail.
Salem Ibrahim, Thomas' lawyer, said his client decided to fly to the smaller Seletar Airport in Singapore due to landing-gear problems after taking off from the Thai resort island of Koh Samui for a test flight.
He wanted to use up some of the five hours worth of fuel in the plane in case of a crash-landing, the lawyer said.
The defence also blamed the Australian authorities for allegedly giving conflicting advice to Thomas on whether he required a certificate of air worthiness.
