New York resident John Michael Dial was sentenced on October 2 in U.S. District Court, Sacramento, Calif., to two years incarceration and 12 months of supervised release for operating a helicopter without a valid pilot certificate, as well as for operating under a false identity. A federal investigation revealed that from Dec. 16, 2009, to Aug. 4, 2010, Dial operated news helicopters in the San Francisco area under a false identity. On March 15, 2012, Dial was hired under his real name as a television news helicopter pilot in Sacramento for which he submitted a fraudulent FAA temporary airman certificate and FAA medical.