AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 106

FLY WITH AOPA
LEGALLY SPEAKING /
Acting unethically?
The FAA is declaring emergencies to get priority handling
from the NTSB
WHEN THE FAA elects to either suspend
or revoke an airman certificate, those
proceedings occur before the National
Transportation Safety Board. Like most
tribunals, the NTSB has rules that govern
its proceedings and are intended to
ensure fairness and an orderly process.
One rule is the " stale complaint rule. "
It prevents the FAA from seeking certificate
action based on events more than
six months ago. One notable exception
is when the FAA alleges a lack of qualification.
When the FAA alleges a lack
of qualification, it typically does so on
an emergency basis, which implicates
another set of rules. These rules arguably
give advantage to the FAA. Allegations
are assumed to be true for determining
whether an emergency exists and the
timeline for the litigation is significantly
expedited from normal handling. Cases
involving a lack of qualification generally
include intentional falsification or drug
use. But we often see the FAA allege a lack
of qualification in illegal charter cases.
In many cases, the evidence suggests the
pilot was attempting to comply with FAA
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106
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
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leasing requirements. The FAA has said
that whether a lease is permissible under
Part 91 or requires an operating certificate
depends on the facts of the case. There are
seldom clear cases. Pursuing pilots who act
in good faith but misunderstood a complicated
legal test is a far cry from pursuing
pilots who intentionally falsify logbooks.
The latter deserves punishment; the former
would benefit more from counseling.
I think the FAA is acting unethically.
It too often drags its feet in investigations,
allowing cases to drag on for months or
years. To get around the stale complaint
rule, the FAA alleges a lack of qualification
and seeks emergency revocation. The
FAA can serve its order, which requires an
immediate response, when it knows the
airman may have a tough time finding a
lawyer willing to respond immediately.
The rules governing emergency proceedings
should be limited to circumstances
that truly reflect a lack of qualification.
Hopefully, the FAA will stop using the NTSB
emergency proceedings to circumvent the
stale complaint rule and will limit the use of
those proceedings to cases that truly involve
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Pilot Protection Services
coverage included.
an imminent and significant threat of harm
to aviation safety. Daniel J. Hassing is an inhouse
attorney with the AOPA Legal Services
team and private pilot.
aopa.org/pps
BY DANIEL HASSING
AOPA Legal Services
Q My wife and I are
toying with the idea of
becoming aircraft owners.
I am a Part 91 pilot flying
an Embraer Praetor 600.
Our mission would be flying
from Northern California
to friends and family in
Southern California. Another
use would be to teach
friends and family. What
kind of aircraft should I be
shopping and financing for?
A Aircraft lenders use
the aircraft as collateral
and file a lien at the FAA,
so they have limits on
the acceptable use of the
aircraft. Providing flight
training in the aircraft or
leasing the aircraft to a club
or school limits the available
lending options and changes
the standard loan terms. In
general, lenders that finance
piston aircraft struggle
with owners operating the
aircraft commercially, so
the best route would be to
use the airplane only for
your personal travel and
recreation.
aopafinance.org
800-62-PLANE (75263)
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024
