How long before the FAA would have him / her in court?
This sort of dual-class system is why the drone registration initiative annoys me. Truly one law for us and another for Them.
If it were a private citizen I can imagine they'd be taken to jail.
There would be civil liability to deal with, which would be handled through lawsuits and insurance companies, but there's no reason for jail.
As far as the government having different 'rules' than private citizens - yeah, that happens. Sometimes it's stupid, and sometimes it makes perfect sense. For example, suing the federal government for punitive damages for negligence is generally unproductive. Any damages awarded would only be punitive to the tax paying populace as the source of said money.
Friendly reminder: we live in a country where a brown kid got arrested for bringing a clock to school. So yes, it is entirely possible for the hypothetical blimp pilot to face serious charges, up to and including terrorism, depending on his race and religion.
It's pretty hard to misrepresent an opponent's argument when there have been no opposing arguments made yet!
Plus your whole argument ignores that defending the airspace of the USA is the governments job. Of course we will have different rules because of that.
And you can sue the government for negligence.