Commentary First Group of Parts – Discipline Criminal conduct Section 49: Air Navigation Order offences
129.The Air Navigation Order, made under the Civil Aviation Act 1982, creates offences of misconduct on or in relation to civil aircraft. These offences do not apply to military aircraft.
130.This section enables the Secretary of State to designate particular offences created by the Air Navigation Order. In the case of any offence so designated, the rule that the offence can only be committed in relation to a civil aircraft is to be disregarded for the purposes of section 42. Any act done in relation to a military aircraft will thus be an offence under section 42 if, were the aircraft a civil aircraft, that act would be a designated offence. This is subject to the proviso that, as for any other offence under section 42, the offender must be either subject to service law or a civilian subject to service discipline. But a person in one of Her Majesty’s aircraft in flight, if he is not subject to service law, will necessarily be a civilian subject to service discipline under paragraph 1 of Schedule 15.