my thinking is along the same lines...you know, innocent until proven guilty.
When applicants come to me for training I ask questions, questions like:
Are you taking any medication?
Do you have any health problems?
Why do you want to learn how to fly?
Are any of your relatives the Worlds Most wanted terrorist?
If so will you be paying cash?
Are you a US citizen, if not, have you gone through the TSA fingerprinting, etc. etc.?
It's my job, and the FAA says my responsibility, as a CFI to vet pilot capabilities when recommending them for certification. Part of that process is determining overall capacity and mental health. Part of the mental health is looking for potential problems, like suicide, recklessness, and stability. But I cannot say that it extends to determining a background check. That's the TSAs responsibility.
I dont have FBI fingerprinting records. I don't have terriorist lists. If I am not given the appropriate tools for the job, then I cannot do the job. This onus is not on the instructor back.
Furthermore, this reporting was actually good, and not incendary. Note that 10 out of those 12 have received their certification before 1994 and the vast majority in the 70's and 80's (probably in conjunction in furtherance their family business as well as the oil embargo)
To say that this makes instructors look bad, I disagree. You're saying that CFI's should have had the premonition to disallow 10 applicants on the basis of their siblings actions 30 years in the future? Come on....
