Local News in Brief : Pilot Pleads No Contest to Drunk Flying Charge

A 47-year-old Sylmar man who crash-landed his small plane at a Pacoima airport while flying drunk and carrying a loaded gun pleaded no contest Wednesday to one count of drunk flying.

James Lee McCoy, a self-employed makeup artist, was sentenced by Van Nuys Municipal Court Judge Martin C. Suits to 30 days in jail and two months of house arrest under an electronic surveillance system that will allow him to continue working.

Suits also sentenced McCoy to three years’ probation and ordered him not to fly during that time. McCoy, who was not present in court as his attorney entered the plea, was given until Sept. 14 to begin serving his sentence.

McCoy was arrested Sept. 7 at Whiteman Airpark after his single-engine Mooney Mark 21 made a belly landing. Witnesses said McCoy had flown erratically around the airport several times before landing without retracting his wheels. He was uninjured.

The crash was reported to Los Angeles police, who arrested McCoy at the airport bar, where he was drinking coffee, said Deputy City Atty. Richard Schmidt.

McCoy’s blood-alcohol content was .08%, double the Federal Aviation Administration standard for flying under the influence, officials said.

Additional charges of reckless flying, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and possession of a loaded firearm were dropped in exchange for the plea.