In an unsettling revelation of aviation nonchalance, Ernesto Cordero, a 54-year-old from Bradenton, Florida, has confirmed the authorities’ suspicions: He pleaded guilty to the daredevil act of operating a helicopter chock-full of passengers, all while lacking the appropriate pilot’s license. This aeronautical misadventure could see Cordero facing up to three years in federal prison, although the courts have yet to decide on a date to mete out justice, as reported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It was a student pilot’s license that ignited Cordero’s unlawful flights; this license being a mere stepping stone, permitting him to fly either with an instructor as co-pilot or solo under specific conditions, but passengers were a definitive no-go. Undeterred by legal limitations, Cordero often skirted these rules, and took to the skies passenger-laden—daring feats that did not go unnoticed, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported.
He was first reported in June 2024, when Cordero’s helicopter alighted upon Egmont Key State Park near Tampa, and someone was spotted departing and reboarding the aircraft. Not a month passed before another complaint was lodged; this time Cordero was allegedly seen ferrying individuals from a Marathon dock…