Sentences Mount for Pilot Involved in Bizarre Crash

Thomas L. Root, who gained notoriety after his small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 1989, was sentenced Friday to 33 months in prison for falsifying applications before the Federal Communications Commission.

The former communications lawyer had pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, forgery and fraud charges in connection with license applications for FM radio stations.

Root, already facing a 15-year sentence after pleading no contest to previous charges, will not have to surrender to federal authorities until June 30 because of his involvement in upcoming fraud trials in North Carolina and Florida.

He has agreed to cooperate with North Carolina authorities in their investigation of Sonrise Communications, which is accused of illegally taking millions of dollars from people who were seeking FCC licenses for FM radio stations.

Root gained national attention in July, 1989, when military planes were sent up to follow his Cessna 210 as it flew from Washington down the East Coast before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas. Military pilots said he was slumped over in the plane, and he was found to have suffered a gunshot wound when he was pulled from the ocean.

The National Transportation Safety Board report on the flight cast strong doubts on Root’s suggestion that the gun he kept in the plane had fired accidentally.