It Was Daring, but--

Mathias Rust, the 19-year-old West German adventurer-pilot who embarrassed the Soviet military by landing his light airplane at the edge of Red Square in May, has been sentenced to four years in a Soviet labor camp and fined about $750 for court costs. Although convicted on charges of violating the Soviet border, breaking international flight rules and malicious hooliganism, Rust’s most serious crime appears to be the international embarrassment that he caused the Kremlin.

But what would have happened to the young man had he landed his single-engine Cessna on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House? The pilot would have been in violation of flying within the restricted air zone surrounding the White House, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The penalty for this infraction would be the loss of his pilot’s license and up to a $1,000 fine.

The Secret Service referred questions to the U.S. attorney’s office, which said that after a mental evaluation at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, and assuming that the aviator had no criminal intention, the penalty would be limited to the FAA restricted-air-zone violation and perhaps a traffic ticket.

Were the pilot to circle and land on Spring Street in front of the Los Angeles Civic Center, however, Los Angeles police would not be so lenient. A department official said that they would probably nab the young man for interfering with the lawful duties of a police officer--a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances that could land him in prison for a year or more.

Because of the sensitivity of Soviet-West German diplomatic relations, Rust may not serve a full four years. The sentence is harsh, but so was the potential for disaster. Landing an airplane on a plaza full of strollers could have caused a tragic loss of life. It was a daring thing that Rust did, but that does not make it admirable.