A Florida man has pleaded guilty to operating a helicopter with passengers without the required pilot’s licence following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation.
Ernesto Cordero, 54, of Bradenton, faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Cordero obtained a student pilot’s licence. That licence allowed him to operate his personal helicopter with an instructor in the passenger seat or fly the helicopter alone in certain circumstances.
The licence did not authorise Cordero to fly with passengers. To fly with passengers, Cordero would need to obtain an unrestricted pilot’s licence, which he never did. Instead, Cordero frequently flew his helicopter with passengers onboard despite the restrictions on his licence.
In June 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration received a complaint when Cordero landed his helicopter at Egmont Key State Park off the coast of Tampa. When he landed, a passenger left and then returned to the helicopter.
The following month, the FAA received another complaint that Cordero was flying others in his helicopter from a dock behind a home in Marathon.
After these incidents, the FAA learned that Cordero’s helicopter was landing at Tampa Executive Airport. Once the helicopter landed, Cordero admitted that he was again flying the helicopter and had a passenger onboard.
