Assignment
Problem I
You are a U.S. commercial flight instructor who woke up yesterday in an ambulance en route to the hospital. Your roommate had found you passed out on the deck and, after trying unsuccessfully to wake you, called 911. The hospital asked you lots of questions, ran some tests and kept you overnight for observation. The doctor told you they couldn't figure out why you passed out, then released you to go home. Aside from a tender bump on your forehead where it hit the deck when you fell, you feel fine. Are you now legal to resume exercising the privileges of your certificates? Explain.
Problem II
A pilot employed by a commercial air parcel service is dispatched to Rapid City, South Dakota, to pick up a load of automotive parts and fly them to Detroit. On arrival in Rapid City, company dispatch advises the pilot that the load has been delayed and should arrive at the airport in an hour and a half. Without telling his employer, the pilot decides to kill some of the wait time by flying the company plane over nearby Mt. Rushmore National Monument, mounting his GoPro camera on the dash in hope of getting some spectacularly-dramatic video to post to YouTube and build on his growing reputation as a bold and daring aviator. Flying close by the great stone faces of some of America's greatest presidents, he slightly misjudges his distance and his left wing contacts Lincoln's nose, then separates from the aircraft, which crashes into a gaggle of tourists in a viewing area below, killing 6, along with the pilot, injuring 18 more, and setting several vehicles on fire. The video will prove very helpful to the NTSB, which will also learn through its investigation about the pilot's reputation as a risk-taker, and will also be admissible evidence in subsequent civil litigation.
Meticulously analyze the air parcel service's potential liability to the injured tourists and families of the victims.
Problem III
You are an aircraft mechanic with airframe & powerplant ratings, employed by an FAA-certified repair station that does a high-volume, around-the clock, high-turnover business inspecting and maintaining a wide variety of civil aircraft. The repair station is a participant in the FAA Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). You worked the graveyard shift and have just fallen into a deep sleep at home when you are awakened by the telephone, answering while still in a groggy state. The caller identifies himself as an FAA Inspector and asks: "Did you perform a right aileron repair on Cessna N1415B last year?"
i. What will you reply and why? Be specific.
ii. After the call, what will you do next and why? Be specific.
iii. Two weeks later, you receive a letter of investigation from the FAA Inspector, alleging that you performed that repair on a certain date and that you failed to utilize methods and practices approved by the Administrator, an FAR violation. What actions, if any, will you take in response to this letter and why? Be specific.
iv. A month later, you receive a letter from the FAA stating that the incident gives the FAA reason to question your competency as a certificated A&P and requesting that you submit to FAA reexamination in the nature of oral, written, and practical testing in the area of aircraft sheet metal repairs.
a. What will happen if you do not promptly agree to submit to this reexamination?
b. If there are costs involved in the reexamination, whose responsibility is it to pay them: yours or the FAAs?
Problem IV
You are an FAA-certificated air traffic control tower operator employed by the FAA in that position. You are required to also hold a current FAA aviation medical certificate to exercise the privileges of your certificate. Your current medical certificate expires tomorrow and you're online filling out the FAA application form to get a new medical certificate, when you come to the question: "Do you currently use any medication (prescription or nonprescription)?" You've been under a lot of stress lately at home, mainly caused by family finances, and were feeling pretty depressed. Sensing your mental state, your brother-in-law gave you a bottle of prescription anti-depressant tablets, saying: "Here, try these; they really worked for me when I was all down about losing my job last year and I don't need them anymore." You tried them, they are working, and you're feeling fine now that you're taking them. There's no record of you getting the meds, and you consider answering the question "no" to avoid the possibility of a truthful answer causing problems for you at work. Describe in detail all of the possible adverse legal consequences you would be risking if you give that false answer.