Apparently, this man has only been charged with "Mischief", a non indictable offence? He has been released on a paltry $5000 bail, and allowed to return to the US. Who knows if he'll even shoe up for the trial. Unlikely if convicted, that there would be any jail time, no doubt a small fine?
I think he should have been charged under our "Civil Aeronautics" Act, which would have been a much more serious offence, with severe penalties. This was not a "Joke"! He held up the aircraft and the passengers for hours.
How does a "high time" "skilled" pilot have an occurrence such as this. Unless extreme wind conditions, would think he was very familiar with this approach?
I think taxi off the active, and shut down would have been a prudent call. Deplane the passengers to a couple of buses and tow to the repair facility. Interesting that no fire equipment visible while the a/c was taxiing?
What can you expect from a government agency that bans commercial flights to Israel, then, allows the Secretary fo State to fly into the country on a Government aircraft?? Just more bafflegab/gobbledegook from the FAA!