Local News in Brief : Pilot’s Drunk-Flying Trial Is Postponed

The trial of a North Hollywood pilot charged with flying while drunk was postponed until June 22 to allow a new attorney time to prepare the case, which his first lawyer dropped after being arrested for drunk driving.

Pilot Ronald Lichnovsky’s previous attorney, Elmer O. Docken of Burbank, arrived at the Ventura County Municipal Court two hours late April 29 for the trial. After conferring with the judge, he was ordered to take a breath test, which showed a blood alcohol level of .289%. A level of .10% is the legal measure of intoxication.

Judge Lee E. Cooper Jr. warned Docken not to drive, but the attorney was arrested soon afterward in the parking lot of the courthouse on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

A State Bar spokeswoman said Docken has previously been convicted of drunk driving and of driving with a suspended license.

Lichnovsky was arrested Jan. 24 at Ventura County Airport in Oxnard when he narrowly missed colliding with another plane after he took off from Whiteman Air Park in Pacoima. Witnesses said Lichnovsky flew his single-engine Piper Tri-Pacer into the path of an incoming plane, forcing the other pilot to dive 400 feet to avoid a collision.