> ## 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, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a5-2-interference-with-flight-crew-member-or-flight/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:58.000Z - Description: In brief: 244 people were sentenced in federal court from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025 under guideline §2A5.2 as the primary guideline. 158 of them (65%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 8 months. 233 of the 244 (95%) pleaded guilty. - 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 **In brief:** In brief: 244 people were sentenced in federal court from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025 under guideline §2A5.2 as the primary guideline. 158 of them (65%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 8 months. 233 of the 244 (95%) pleaded guilty. Updated November 2, 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 244 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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/). ## What Does Guideline §2A5.2 Cover? The title of §2A5.2 in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual names several kinds of conduct. They are interference with a flight crew member or flight attendant, interference with the dispatch, navigation, operation, or maintenance of a mass transportation vehicle, and unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. This post counts only cases where §2A5.2 was the primary guideline. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 244 such people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The Commission's offense type for all 244 of these cases is "Other." The guideline has no close court-martial counterpart in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. ## How Many Received Prison, and for How Long? Of the 244 people, 158 (65%) received a prison term. Another 64 (26%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served. ## How Often Did People Plead Guilty? 233 of the 244 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement and 22% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 8 months. After a trial it was 6.7 months, but that figure rests on only 6 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison. A group that small cannot support a firm comparison. ## Where Did Sentences Fall Against the Guideline Range? The sentence was within the guideline range for 59% of the 244 (144 people). It was below the range at the government's request for 12% (30) and below the range without a government request for 25% (60). It was above the range for 4% (10). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 people in this group. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution 146 people (60%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median supervised release term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 26 people (11%), and restitution was ordered for 62 (25%). In criminal history, 54% were in the lowest criminal history category and 9% were in the highest. ## How Did Sentences Change by Year? From fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2019, 97 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 6.7 months. From fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2025, 147 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 8 months. The yearly table shows the number sentenced ranging from 16 people in fiscal year 2020 to 32 in fiscal year 2016\. Yearly medians are based on small groups and moved between 6 months and 10.5 months. | 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 the Records Cannot Show The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records also do not describe the facts of any case, so they cannot show why one sentence differed from another. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A5.2 (244), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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) - [§2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-5-failure-to-register-as-a-sex-offender/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder/) (same guideline chapter part) - [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.