What to do about illegal acts
Recently I had a student--a noninstrument-rated private pilot--tell me that he flew through the clouds a few times on his previous cross-country (climbing through 4,000 feet of clouds as a private pilot with about 10 hours of simulated instrument time, nine approaches under his belt, and a passenger on board).
There are some very bad thought patterns that are being displayed by this individual, and I can see a few of the ones that the FAA specifies, such as anti-authority, macho, impulsive, and invincibility. I have some knowledge of what he did, and my computer's flight tracking software shows some other possible bad behaviors, too. Personally, I feel obligated to tell someone. I would feel horrible if he had an accident and injured or killed himself and passengers, especially if there were a way that I might have stopped him (in regards to the FAA).
I have tried to talk to him about his actions, but it doesn't seem to faze him. He said that he didn't think it was wrong since he obtained a clearance, but I pointed out the fact the FARs say it's wrong. He knew the weather conditions, since he got a briefing. He knew the clouds were forecast to be 2,500 feet thick. What are my responsibilities as a CFI? What are my responsibilities to the FAA?
Please help,
Pat
Greetings Pat:
Yes, this is a sad and challenging situation. The fact that this person is a certificated private pilot means that there's very little you can do legally to restrict his behavior. Were he a student pilot, you'd have some leverage over him, since he needs a solo endorsement in his logbook every 90 days. As a private pilot, he's essentially on his own. This is one of those situations where a person can exercise his freedom (and bad judgment) sufficient to hurt himself and his passengers (unfortunately) and there's very little you can legally do about it.
If you took your case to the FAA, they'd need solid proof that he violated the regulations before any action could be taken against him. If you were to report him without his posing an imminent threat to society, the possibility exists that he might or could make a case that you ruined or tainted his career potential (yes, the legal system is occasionally used to terrorize helpless citizens through needless lawsuits).
Since he is your student, you should consider the following. If he can ever be reasoned with (and that's a big if), and if he seems willing to change his behaviors, then it might be reasonable to continue with his training in hopes of influencing him for the better (I'm not sure what training you're providing here). Otherwise, I would simply have nothing to do with him from now on. It's unreasonable to expose yourself to the liability of having your name in his logbook, which will be looked at by the NTSB after the accident.
However, you asked what you could do about him and I have some advice. There is a practical method that might influence his behavior in this matter. It's called an intervention.
I'd gather several experienced flight instructors, the flight school owner, and anyone else that this person might respect--and inform them of the behaviors our bad boy seems to think are perfectly normal. Then, I'd find a way of getting my intervention group and Cloudman into one room. At this point, you, the chief pilot, or the flight school owner should explain to Cloudman that his behavior is not only not normal, but it's dangerous and might cause helpless people to be harmed as a result. Your objective is to explain why many experienced pilots feel his behavior is unacceptable and how it needs to change. The hope is that he'll listen to the group's comments about his behavior. If he becomes defensive, then challenge his assumptions and beliefs. Let the group respond as appropriate, but there should always be someone in control as a moderator.
You'll probably be saving a few lives if you can pull this off. If Cloudman becomes defensive, storms out, and never returns to the airport again, so be it. You did all you could to keep him from hurting himself and others.
Sick sixes, lazy eights
Dear Rod:
I'm a commercial student who's having lots of trouble with lazy eights. Keeping the loops symmetrical is the issue, and I usually end up with either too much or too little airspeed at the 180-degree turn points. Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Perry
Greetings Perry:
I'm guessing that you're suffering from a common perceptual problem faced by most pilots. While sitting in the left seat and making any turn to the right, it can appear that the majority of the airplane's cowling has sunk below the horizon. The natural result is to correct this by raising the nose. A left turn often results in the perception that the majority of the airplane's cowling has risen above the horizon. The result is to compensate by lowering the nose. This is why pilots often climb during steep turns to the right and descend during steep turns to the left. This is also may be why your lazy eights are not symmetrical.
Try making references to attitude using the center of the airplane's cowling, rather than the right side of the cowling. This takes a bit of practice, but it's an easy perception to develop. Once you're using a consistent attitude reference, all your maneuvers should improve.
FAQ no more?
Dear Rod:
Am I correct in my assumption that the FAA is no longer providing its Frequently Asked Questions and Answers?
Tim
Greetings Tim:
The original FAQs, provided by John Lynch at the FAA, are no longer available. Part 61 of the FARs is quite complex, and John's explanations were the single most useful and valuable source of information on the subject in existence. I'm very sorry to see the FAA discontinue his fine offering. In its place you'll find the FAA's new, generic offering on Q&As for the general public. Is this offering as useful? Well, let me put it this way. Type in the word log (as in "to log flight time") and you'll get just two returns. In the previous FAQs you'd see 278 returns. You make the call here.
Hopefully the FAA will reinstate the previous version of the FAQs. Meanwhile, if you type, "frequently asked questions 14 CFR" into Google, you'll find plenty of sources that provide the previous version of FAQs.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1973, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and is part owner of a Cessna P210. Visit his Web site.
