A former Government Director of Civil Aviation is appealing a four-month prison sentence he received for forging a certificate of air worthiness for a Swiss aircraft.

James Pitman, 55, of Sunning Lane, Warwick, was convicted in May on his guilty plea to charges of forgery and uttering false documents in Magistrates' Court.

He was sentenced to four months in prison on the charges by Magistrate Will Francis, who said the international implications of the crime made simply imposing the maximum fine on each count- $600 - "ridiculous".

But Pitman's lawyer, Paul Harshaw, argued yesterday that the Magistrate failed to apply the new Criminal Code Amendments to the sentencing of the first time offender and that a prison sentence was too harsh.

Mr. Harshaw said Pitman made a full confession and cooperated with Police.

At 55, with no previous criminal offences, Mr. Harshaw said Pitman had clearly acted out of character and every sentencing option should have been considered before the jail term.

Pitman was suffering from clinical depression at the time and was under financial strain arising from a post September 11 downturn in business at Badger International Group, the aircraft agent for overseas companies he now runs, Mr. Harshaw added.

Pitman has been on bail, pending the appeal, since his conviction.

In May, he pleaded guilty to falsifying an air worthiness certificate and passing it to a Swiss company, Blue Heron Aviation Limited.

The Civil Aviation Department issued Pitman a one-month, air worthiness certificate for Blue Heron which expired on November 23.

Normally a one year certificate is given, but there was still money to be paid, so the certificate was only valid for a month.

On November 23, Pitman had still not paid the outstanding amount and the jet was without a valid air worthiness certificate.

The same day, Pitman faxed a copy of the fraudulent one year air worthiness certificate to Blue Heron. Between November 23 and December 4, the jet was without an air worthiness certificate.

But Pitman was found out by the Geneva-based company, which was informed by the Department of Civil Aviation in Bermuda that the airworthiness certificate had not been issued.

The Swiss company called in the Commercial Crime Department in Bermuda.

Mr. Harshaw said Pitman, who was Director of Civil Aviation between 1983 and 1995, lost his reputation and been humiliated in front of his family as a result of his actions.

"This is one of the most inept forgeries ever concocted," Mr. Harshaw said yesterday. "It was so inept it was discovered almost immediately.

"After 35 years in this industry, he made the biggest mistake of his life."

When sentencing Pitman in May, Magistrate Francis said there would be horrendous international headlines if a Bermuda-registered aircraft with a bogus air worthiness certificate was to crash.

But yesterday, Justice Mr. Ward said there was no evidence there would be international implications as a result of the incident.

"We can't, from this, determine the world will think Bermuda issues bogus certificates for aircraft," Mr. Ward said. "This is a simple, straightforward fraud by way of forgery of a certificate."

Prosecutor Cindy Clarke said, however, that Mr. Francis had considered alternate sentences and found them lacking given the crime.

Mr. Ward said he will make a decision on the appeal next Thursday.