A Montana judge has ordered a Canadian pilot, whose ditching of an aircraft in 1982 led to the death of his girlfriend, to cover the cost of repairs to the Cessna 150 and to pay the funeral costs for Diane Babcock. Jaroslaw Jerry Ambrozuk was also fined $1,000 under a plea arrangement that was revised by Flathead District Court Judge Stewart Stadler last Thursday. According to the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake, Ambrozuk pleaded guilty to one count of felony criminal endangerment and one count of felony criminal mischief in May for the bizarre elopement scheme in which he, then 19, and Babcock, 18, rented the plane in Penticton, British Columbia, and then deliberately put it in Bitterroot Lake, near Kalispell, Mont. They planned to run away together, but Babcock for reasons that are not clear was unable to escape the sinking aircraft. Ambrozuk fled, didnt report the accident and eventually took up residence in Plano, Texas, where he led a comfortable life as a software engineer under an assumed identity. One of his neighbors recognized him when the story was told on Americas Most Wanted. Shortly after the ditching, police in Canada recorded a phone call in which Ambrozuk told a friend that Babcocks seatbelt had jammed, but it was working properly when searchers recovered the plane, with Babcocks body still inside, from 220 feet of water. In his ruling, Judge Stadler ordered Ambrozuk to pay $19,500 to the aircraft owner, $5,000 to Babcocks family for funeral expenses and $10,000 in court and prosecution costs, in addition to the $1,000 fine. Ambrozuks legal issues are far from over, however. Next week, hell plead guilty to falsifying his U.S. passport, which is a felony.
Pilot Who Fled 1982 Crash Pays $35,500
Key Takeaways:
- A Montana judge ordered Canadian pilot Jaroslaw Jerry Ambrozuk to pay for aircraft repairs and funeral costs for his girlfriend, Diane Babcock, who died in a 1982 plane ditching he orchestrated.
- Ambrozuk, then 19, deliberately crashed the rented Cessna 150 into Bitterroot Lake as part of an elopement scheme with 18-year-old Babcock, who was unable to escape the sinking plane.
- After the incident, Ambrozuk fled, didn't report the accident, and lived under an assumed identity as a software engineer in Texas until he was recognized due to "America's Most Wanted."
- Under a plea arrangement, Ambrozuk was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $19,500 to the aircraft owner, $5,000 to Babcock's family, and $10,000 in court costs, while still facing charges for falsifying his U.S. passport.
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