Ethical Judgement Call

[RitterKreuz]

CFI's or professional pilots post your opinions please...

I am a CFI at a small part 61 flight school, aside from our school there are a couple of self employed flight instructors who operate on the field. Last month a student and aircraft owner quit flight his training.

This student was under the guidance of one of the free lance instructor's on the field. This instructor expressed to me that it was probably a wise choice as he was having difficulty understanding the material, his study habbits were weak, and he seemed to have an "anti-authority" complex.

Recently, especially early in the day or late in the after noon i have noticed this ex-student drive out to his airplane with a friend or family member and depart the airport with this person on board. As you are aware, student pilots no matter how experienced are not allowed the privilage of carrying passengers.

His actions are in complete disregard for not only the safety of his passengers but for the pilots in the area as well. I feel that the Federal Aviation Regulations exists as a means of protection to those who dont know any better, and it is our duty and obligation as pilots to respect and obey the regulations.

The airport is a small town strip, and needless to say the place would probably be placed under tight supervision by the FAA should a report be filed, however It is my intent to report this students actions to the Feds.

Being a small airport... do you folks feel like a case of "Small airport syndrome" should be reported?
I want to have multiple points of view for this situation before i personally call any three letter agencies! (i guess i just need to hear other opinions since nobody else at my airport seems to have an opinion or care in the world about this situation.)

Thanks

[Hagar]

RitterKruez. I'm not a professional pilot but some years ago I worked for a flying club on a small airfield in the UK. I have to ask the question, does this person own the aircraft he's using? It worries me to think that any reputable flying club/school would hire out an aircraft to anyone without checking them out on it first, making sure they're competent to fly it & above all - to check on their licence. If he owns the aircraft it changes the position slightly. I'm sure many private pilots bend the rules a little & carrying unauthorised passengers might not be treated as serious, unless there was an accident. I have no doubt that this was done in my day & is still going on. Many farmers around here had their own airstrips. Who is to say what they & their friends got up to?

My first thought would be to report this to ATC or whoever is in charge of the airfield. If you consider this person a danger I would have no hesitation in contacting the FAA. If you don't wish to be specific, treat it as a hypothetical situation & ask their advice on the best way to tackle it. There is no need to identify yourself or the airfield if you don't wish to do so.

PS. I just noticed you specified that this person does in fact own the aircraft. In that case I personally would have no hesitation in contacting the appropriate authorities. What I do might not be the popular opinion but that has never bothered me. I have always considered aircraft safety vitally important. It's not the ones breaking the rules I'm worried about. What they do is their business but it's the others who they might be putting in danger by doing so.

[ozzy72]

To right Hagar, you can't put a price on safety!!!
Its one thing to risk your own life, its v.much another when its other peoples

Ozzy

[Hagar]

I've just been giving this some thought. Would you even have considered this if you hadn't been told the situation by another instructor. It's just possible this person went somewhere else to complete his training. Are you 100% certain he doesn't hold a full licence? Suppose a wealthy businessman decided to base his own aircraft at your home airfield. He might join in the social life of the airfield & chat to you in the clubhouse, even take members for pleasure trips. The point is, would anyone ask to see his licence?

If you're sure of your facts you could approach this man & warn him in a friendly way that various people on the field have told you he's breaking the law. Point out that if he continues to do so it's bound to be reported by somebody. If you feel he might react violently you could leave an anonymous note on his car. The danger is that he might simply move his aircraft to another airfield where they know nothing about him.

[Wing Nut]

Doug, I think your first instinct was right.

[jimclarke]

Call it in before someone gets hurt/killed.  Better safe than sorry!

Jim (former student pilot)

[RitterKreuz]

well i have decided what i should do after hearing your thoughts and gathering my own... I hate to put anyone at risk of losing their airplane or steep FAA fines, im just to nice i guess ;-)

***but i would hate worse for this person to kill one of my solo students, my friends or me!

I have a friend who is a pilot examiner in another town, i will call him and see if a spur-the-moment ramp check would be in order.

Thanks for your replies!

[loomex]

bust his a$$

[Craig.]

this is one of those cases where being nice isnt an option peoples lives could be at risk. Its better to be safe than sorry, and if it annoys him so be it, if he has the legal documents then it wont be a problem, a simple showing of them will end it there and then. If he doesnt then he's breaking the law and he deserves to be taken out of the air.

[Citationpilot]

A guys been doing it at my airport all the time, unless he gets ramped checked with a passenger on board there's nothing the FBO or FAA can do about it. They can't just take your word for it, they have to catch him in the act, and they will not send a person to stay there 24 hours a day. The guy who does it at my airport has geared up 5 times and still has had nothing happen to him because he told the FAA that he had no passengers. Even if he were to get caught, it would be nothing more then a petty fine and revoktion of your lisence.