Smoking on an airplane could cost an Okanagan woman $500.
Katherine J. Buck was caught "red-handed" having a smoke in the women's washroom on a commercial flight last fall, court heard Thursday. She pleaded guilty to breaching the federal Aeronautics Act and will be sentenced next week.
"I know I made a mistake," she told the court. "I had fingerprints taken and a photo. I don't understand why . . . I've never been in trouble before."
Buck, believed to be from Armstrong, was on board a WestJet flight from Toronto to Kelowna on Oct. 9.
Despite a flight attendant warning passengers against using smoking materials on board, she lit a cigarette in the lavatory while the jet was in the air.
Police were waiting for her when she arrived at Kelowna Airport.
Clarke Burnett, a federal prosecutor, told Buck he'll ask for a $500 fine.
She uses a cane and said she's on disability. She's concerned a conviction will prohibit her from traveling to the U.S.
According to Canadian aviation regulations, the maximum penalty for smoking on an airplane is a $5,000 fine. Such prosecutions in Canada are rare.