Michael Anthony Roberts, Operating Aircraft without Certification, Alaska 2023

A Wasilla man is facing serious charges after allegedly piloting a plane without a license and displaying a false registration mark following a 2022 crash.

Martin Michael Anthony Roberts, 61, is accused of serving as an airman without an airman’s certificate when he piloted a Piper PA-18 registered as N99640 at Wolf Lake Airport in Wasilla, Alaska on February 27, 2022. The aircraft crashed on takeoff, according to court documents.

Roberts is also charged with displaying a false or misleading mark on the Piper PA-18 about the registration of the aircraft.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Alaska on April 21, 2023, charges Roberts with one count of serving as an airman without a pilot certificate, in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 46306(b)(7) and one count of displaying false or misleading marks about the registration of an aircraft, in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 46306(b)(3).

If convicted, Roberts faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Roberts had his initial court appearance on May 9, 2023, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew M. Scoble of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, where he was ordered to be detained pending trial.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement. The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Alaska State Troopers are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related Federal Cases