> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2A5.2 Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a5-2-interference-with-flight-crew-member-or-flight-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:30:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:30:32.000Z - Description: All 18 people sentenced under guideline §2A5.2 in fiscal year 2018 pleaded guilty. Prison went to 9 of them (50%), 7 (39%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 6.1 months. The within-range share of sentences was 72%, higher than the 59% for all fiscal years 2016 to 2025. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A5.2 Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attend](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a5-2-interference-with-flight-crew-member-or-flight/) › §2A5.2: FY2018 **In brief:** All 18 people sentenced under guideline §2A5.2 in fiscal year 2018 pleaded guilty. Prison went to 9 of them (50%), 7 (39%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 6.1 months. The within-range share of sentences was 72%, higher than the 59% for all fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 18 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## All 18 People Pleaded Guilty The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 18 people sentenced in fiscal year 2018 with §2A5.2 as the primary guideline. All 18 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement, and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 18 people (0%). The files include only people who were convicted and sentenced. They do not include acquittals or dismissed cases. ## Prison Terms and Probation Prison went to 9 of the 18 people (50%), and 7 (39%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 6.1 months. A quarter received 15 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2A5.2, 65% of people were sent to prison and the median prison term was 8 months. ## How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range Within the guideline range were 13 of the 18 sentences (72%). Below the range, 2 sentences (11%) were at the government's request and 2 (11%) were without a government request. One sentence (6%) was above the range. The 72% within-range share is higher than the 59% for all fiscal years under this guideline. It is also higher than the 51% for everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018, under every guideline. ## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Fines Supervised release after prison was ordered for 7 people (39%). The median term was 24 months. Restitution was ordered for 5 people (28%), and a fine for 4 (22%). In criminal history, 61% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 6% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Guideline Title and Counting Period The Manual titles §2A5.2 "Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant; Interference with Dispatch, Navigation, Operation, or Maintenance of Mass Transportation Vehicle; Unsafe Operation of Unmanned Aircraft." The Commission's offense type for these cases is Other. Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018\. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not the time served. ## Fiscal Years 2017 and 2019 for Comparison In fiscal year 2017, 20 people were sentenced under §2A5.2, the median prison term was 6.5 months, and 65% of sentences were within the range. In fiscal year 2019, 27 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 7 months, and 59% were within the range. The 18 people in fiscal year 2018 are a small count, so one year is not a trend. Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018, under every guideline, totaled 69,425 people, with a median prison term of 24 months. The table lists each year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 32 | 9 months | 91% | | 2017 | 20 | 6.5 months | 85% | | 2018 | 18 | 6.1 months | 100% | | 2019 | 27 | 7 months | 96% | | 2020 | 16 | 10 months | 100% | | 2021 | 25 | 8 months | 96% | | 2022 | 27 | 10 months | 96% | | 2023 | 20 | 6 months | 100% | | 2024 | 30 | 10.5 months | 93% | | 2025 | 29 | 8.4 months | 100% | ## What Remains Unknown The records say nothing about the facts of any case. They also do not explain why some people received a prison term and others did not. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart to this guideline, so only federal numbers are given. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A5.2 (18), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2A5.2 Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a5-2-interference-with-flight-crew-member-or-flight/) (overview) - [§2A5.2 Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a5-2-interference-with-flight-crew-member-or-flight-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2A5.2 Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a5-2-interference-with-flight-crew-member-or-flight-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.