On September 9, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska sentenced Forest Kirst to 1 year and 1 day in prison, 3 years’ supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment. During his term of supervised release, he will not be permitted to pilot a commercial aircraft or work as an aircraft mechanic without the prior approval of the U.S. Probation Office. In November 2019, the court convicted Kirst of obstruction of proceedings before Federal agencies during a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into an August 14, 2014, aircraft crash. Kirst had piloted the aircraft involved in the crash, which injured the three Canadian tourists onboard; one of them later succumbed to his injuries.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with substantial assistance from FAA and NTSB.