Pilot who flew MP Turek by helicopter may lose his licence

The Czech Civil Aviation Authority (ÚCL) has launched a review concerning Jiří Vlk, an entrepreneur from the Karviná region, pilot and owner of several helicopters, who was the largest financial backer of the Motorists party and ran as its number-two candidate in the Moravian-Silesian Region. The trigger was the fact that Vlk was finally convicted of extortion involving a weapon, shortly before which MP and honorary chairman of the Motorists, Filip Turek, had flown in his helicopter on a tour over factories in Moravian Silesia.

According to court documents obtained by the editorial team under the Freedom of Information Act, in March 2024 Vlk pointed a handgun at a man from a distance of about two metres, cocked it, and ordered him: "Lie on the ground!" The conflict arose over driving on a restricted-access road that one of Vlk's companies used as a shooting range. According to the court's findings, a scuffle broke out between the two men, during which the victim managed to restrain Vlk — who then returned to his car, retrieved the weapon, and pointed it at the victim. The court concluded that Vlk's motive was a feeling of humiliation.

The District Court in Karviná did not believe Vlk's own version of events, in which he claimed to have been the one attacked — the court described his testimony as an attempt to evade responsibility. Vlk received a 30-month suspended sentence with a 42-month probationary period and was banned from owning or carrying weapons for 30 months. The verdict was upheld by the Regional Court in Ostrava in January, and in May the Supreme Court dismissed Vlk's appeal as "manifestly unfounded." Earlier, between 2000 and 2005, he had already faced prosecution three times, including for assaulting a public official — on that occasion he ran over a municipal police officer with his car.

What the Civil Aviation Authority says

According to ÚCL spokesperson Jitka Ungerová, civil aviation safety is an absolute priority, and the authority is obliged to examine circumstances that may be relevant under aviation regulations. However, she noted that a pilot's licence only certifies professional and medical fitness, not moral integrity, and current legislation does not allow a licence to be automatically revoked on the basis of any criminal conviction. So far, the authority has only confirmed that no rules were broken on 24 July, when MP Turek flew aboard Vlk's helicopter.

Notably, for its review, ÚCL has not yet requested the actual court rulings containing the details of the case — the authority has so far relied only on an anonymised Supreme Court decision that omits the specifics of the crime. It also remains unclear whether Vlk's mental state will be re-examined: according to Ungerová, a criminal conviction does not automatically result in medical disqualification, but if doubts arise during an aeromedical examination, an additional assessment may be ordered.

Turek and Vlk: not just one flight

Besides Turek, Czech President Petr Pavel has also previously used Vlk's helicopter — this was confirmed by several government politicians, including Motorists party leader and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka. The President's Office stated that this involved a one-off event related to preparations for the "Pilot of the Year" gala, where the president was a guest of honour, and that he has no relationship with Vlk — the Office says it did not cover the cost of the flight.

Turek's ties to Vlk go beyond a single flight: the two men appeared together repeatedly during last year's election campaign, and Vlk regularly shares posts on social media in support of the MP. Last year, Vlk's family companies donated a total of 3.2 million crowns to the Motorists party, of which Turek is honorary chairman.

A separate wrinkle in the case involves a potential conflict of interest: since January this year, the entrepreneur's son, Adam Vlk, has headed the legal and methodology department at the Civil Aviation Authority itself and recently secured a seat on the supervisory board of the state enterprise Air Navigation Services. The authority's leadership maintains that the conflict of interest has been resolved — the son has officially been recused from handling his father's case and, according to the ÚCL spokesperson, accepted this without objection. Jiří Vlk himself did not respond to the editorial team's request for comment, but described his conviction on social media as "the arrest of a thief."

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz