Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU do?

aloft

aloft

New Member
Say you have a Private Pilot friend who it turns out is doing a whole bunch of unquestionably commercial flying for a company that doesn't want to pay an appropriately-certificated pilot to do it.

You've told him that building time on somebody else's dime with only a PPL is a no-no in the eyes of the FAA, that he could lose his PPL if he gets caught, and that he's harming the profession he wants to break into by doing for free what the company should be paying someone with a commercial ticket to do.

Thus far, he's chosen to ignore your warnings and admonishments.

What would you do? What should you do?
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

I would continue talking to him. Perhaps I would confront the company. However, I don't think I would go to the feds.

Sooner or later, he'll get caught. I don't think he'd be able to keep that up for too long before the FAA catches on.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

I'm sure I'll probably be in the minority (again) about this but...

I wouldn't rat the dude out... absolutely not... if he was getting trashed and flying and an obvious danger to others, sure.... but not over a regulation. Giving him a heads up about the dangers of getting caught, etc... fine....but...

Only a *****bag would go to the FAA....IMHO:D
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

I'd go to the company in question and offer to fly for less than the PPL

sincerely,

25% of the Board.
 
On the one hand, it is none of my business. On the other hand, how do you know it is something that requires a commercial certificate?

It is possible to fly an aircraft with a PPL without paying for it.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

drunkenbeagle said:
On the one hand, it is none of my business. On the other hand, how do you know it is something that requires a commercial certificate?

It is possible to fly an aircraft with a PPL without paying for it.
Click to expand...
Trust me, it's commercial flying.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

Let him dig his own grave. I'd be more worried about the company that hired if, if thats the case.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

Seriously, no one here has recommended calling the FSDO right then and there to turn him in?!?! (I know Ryan said not to and only a feminine freshness product in a bag would)...but someone still has to get on here and say "TURN HIS ASS IN!!!"

This thread has been up since 2:00pm my time and it's now 6:30pm???

You people disappointed me in ways I can't even explain...:whip:

:sarcasm:
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

Absolutely call the FSDO and report him!!! :mad:




































J/K. Make sure he knows he is playing with fire, but don't rat him out unless he is definitely putting lives at risk. If he is flying pax then the company should be made aware that the cat is out of the bag.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

I wouldn't let the Feds know, unless he's a danger to others. It also depends how good a friend he is to you. If he's a really good friend, you wouldn't be asking whether to rat on him or not. Just for an acquaintance, I would tell him to get out of it before you let the feds know about the company, not the guy himself. Or you could just wait for someone else to do the dirty work...
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

Remind him that the feds may paw through his log book for the atp ticket. And they aint dumb.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

All I have to say is Karma. It sounds like you're in a difficult place right now and don't know what to do. I'm sure you've already told him before that's its not right. He's going to have to find out the hard way it seems. :(
 
Itchy said:
Remind him that the feds may paw through his log book for the atp ticket. And they aint dumb.
Click to expand...

What exactly in his logbook would be so suspicious? PIC time in a light piston single?

And without knowing any details, it is hard to form any opinion anyway (which is fine, we have more fun speculating and jumping to conclusions around here - right?)
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

I honestly can't believe no one would turn him in - I would call the FAA no questions asked. People flying outside of their certificate are a danger to everyone in much the same way a drunk driver is.
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

I_Money said:
I honestly can't believe no one would turn him in - I would call the FAA no questions asked. People flying outside of their certificate are a danger to everyone in much the same way a drunk driver is.
Click to expand...


Really? I'm pretty sure that with my PPL I safely took people on airborn tours of Atlantic City. Only difference was that I was paying for the plane and fuel. If someone else had paid that would have made me as dangerous as a drunk driver?
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

So there are lots of "only if he's a danger to others" thoughts here... We don't get to make that decision with respect to commercial flying. The people do, and in this case, it's the FAA that is the people. The FAA says you must have a Commercial ticket, that piece of paper (or plastic now) says "I'm not a danger." Report to FAA? Probably, but only after a warning to your friend those are your intentions.

A broader issue is that we become like those with whom we choose to surround ourselves. You have chosen someone who turned out to be a scofflaw, anti authoritarian, willing to lie, and is willing to hurt the profession at the expense of properly qualified people. And your friend has chosen to surround himself with an employer who is the same.

It's a drag, but doing the right thing is hard sometimes. Best of luck.

LC
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

aloft said:
Say you have a Private Pilot friend who it turns out is doing a whole bunch of unquestionably commercial flying for a company that doesn't want to pay an appropriately-certificated pilot to do it.

You've told him that building time on somebody else's dime with only a PPL is a no-no in the eyes of the FAA, that he could lose his PPL if he gets caught, and that he's harming the profession he wants to break into by doing for free what the company should be paying someone with a commercial ticket to do.

Thus far, he's chosen to ignore your warnings and admonishments.

What would you do? What should you do?
Click to expand...

What exactly is your friend doing?
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

1) tell him what he is doing is wrong

2) punch him in the face if he continues

3) call FSDO

4) see #2
 
Re: Friend with PPL doing commercial flying; what would YOU

If I were you I'd probably go find a girl to take to the movies. There isn't really anything you can do about it and the FSDO isn't going to care. It will take you longer to figure out who to talk to than it will for them to decide it's not worth looking into. It's illegal, foolish, and not worth getting worked up over. One way or another it will end badly.
 
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