T o d d P a t t i s t writes:

If you have no license, the FAA can issue fines. That's how
they handle ultralight pilot violations.

If the unlicensed pilot is wealthy enough to pay the fines, what
prevents him from flying indefinitely without a license and just
paying the fines whenever he is caught? In the corporate world,
sometimes fines are simply treated as a cost of doing business;
individuals with the means might do the same.

I can also easily imagine someone who has had a pilot license for 40
years and loses it due to an inability to pass a medical exam, and
then continues to fly illegally. For someone who has dedicated his
life to flying, telling him he can never fly again would be rather
like holding a gun to his head.

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