On October 31, 2015, the defendant was involved in an
accident while landing his Piper Cherokee 140 airplane at the Perry-Warsaw
Airport in Perry, NY. The airplane veered to the right, and Woodhams
over-corrected and hit the brakes, causing the nose of the plane to go into the
ditch off the runway. At the time of the accident, there was a 15-year old boy
on board as a passenger, but no flight instructor.
On November 2, 2015, FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors viewed
the defendant’s airplane at the Perry-Warsaw Airport. During a telephone
conversation, Woodhams told inspectors that he had sustained a bloody nose and
hurt his shin during the crash. The defendant also stated that he was the only
occupant in the airplane at the time of the accident but that his son
approached the aircraft immediately after the crash and slipped and fell as he
climbed up the flap, hitting his nose and causing a bloody nose.
Woodhams met with inspectors in person on November 4, 2015,
and stated once again that he was the only occupant of the aircraft at the time
of the accident and that his son arrived at the crash scene later. The
defendant was told that a witness reported seeing his son in the aircraft but
Woodhams again denied this fact.
On November 10, 2015, the defendant submitted a
Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report to the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) and failed to report that there was a passenger on the
plane who was injured during the accident.
On January 10, 2017, Woodhams was interviewed by a Special
Agent of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General,
and FAA inspectors and stated once again that he was the only person on the
plane at that time. When questioned concerning evidence developed during the
FAA investigation that there was a passenger in the plane at the time of the
crash, defendant denied that there was a passenger in the plane and he gave an alternative
explanation that was untrue.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the
Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General, under the
direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas Shoemaker and the Federal Aviation
Administration, Rochester Flight Standards District Office, under the direction
of Office Manager Carl Kohl.