Webinar: Illegal Charter

MidlifeFlyer

MidlifeFlyer

Well-Known Member
Maybe it's in part due to COVID travel concerns, but the private air transportation market has been heating up. So has the FAA's interest in illegal charter operations. I attended a WINGS presentation on the subject a month or two ago out of curiosity. Separately, I heard a presentation by an FAA enforcement lawyer on the subject. That's usually a signal of special emphasis in the enforcement arena.

Anyway, I've been asked to do one. It's next Tuesday (April 6) at 7pm EST. Sponsored by the FAA. WINGS credit if you care.

The target is, perhaps obviously, sham dry leasing, but the presentation is geared toward the concerns of operators, owners, and pilots. 90% of the slides are the FAA. But the commentary will be mine.

More information and Registration: Login - FAA - FAASTeam - FAASafety.gov
 
I’ll just put this out for all of the junior birdmen/women among us: if you’re working in the right seat for a 91 operator, getting your hours up so you can move on, you need to be aware of these finer points.

For instance, because of internal accounting practices and corporate structure, some flight departments could need an operating certificate. Owners have been known to “let” friends for a fee that exceeds those expenses allowed in 91.501.

Arm yourself with information and CYA.

www.bjtonline.com

The Flight Department Company Trap

www.bjtonline.com www.bjtonline.com

 
deadstick said:
I’ll just put this out for all of the junior birdmen/women among us: if you’re working in the right seat for a 91 operator, getting your hours up so you can move on, you need to be aware of these finer points.

For instance, because of internal accounting practices and corporate structure, some flight departments could need an operating certificate. Owners have been known to “let” friends for a fee that exceeds those expenses allowed in 91.501.

Arm yourself with information and CYA.

www.bjtonline.com

The Flight Department Company Trap

www.bjtonline.com www.bjtonline.com

Click to expand...

Test 1 : what does *insert company name* do?

If the answer isn’t anything beyond holds the airplane/ passes funds/billing for a 91 airplane -

Go ahead and walk away.


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I hate aviation, I used to love it. There's a couple of old sayings about it, I'll only quote the one that applies to this scenario, "If you want to find the criminals in town hang around the airport.". Sad but true, airplanes seem to possess a siren that calls people of a certain nature. If you've never been sued for volunteering you're not trying.
 
I wish there wasn't so much onus on the pilots to sort out complex corporate structures, legal filings with the FAA, insurance, etc. When I was contracting, this was a constant headache and risk to my certificate. It's especially difficult when the airplane is registered to some random entity, like Tailnumber, LLC.
 
CoffeeIcePapers said:
I wish there wasn't so much onus on the pilots to sort out complex corporate structures, legal filings with the FAA, insurance, etc. When I was contracting, this was a constant headache and risk to my certificate. It's especially difficult when the airplane is registered to some random entity, like Tailnumber, LLC.
Click to expand...

The FAA is making an A&P, a JD, and an MD prerequisites for a Private Pilot.
 
"You're not expected to answer the phone but you need to be on two hour call out and are expected to be rested and prepared to fly but you're not considered on duty while waiting for the phone to ring but also you can't have a beer in case we call and you answer the phone, which you don't have to do, but if you aren't available to fly there might be employment consequences..."

I really appreciated the soft-shoe tap dancing routine that the chief pilot did while reciting that.
 
Fixtur said:
"You're not expected to answer the phone but you need to be on two hour call out and are expected to be rested and prepared to fly but you're not considered on duty while waiting for the phone to ring but also you can't have a beer in case we call and you answer the phone, which you don't have to do, but if you aren't available to fly there might be employment consequences..."

I really appreciated the soft-shoe tap dancing routine that the chief pilot did while reciting that.
Click to expand...
Soooo glad our shop put an end to that stuff years ago. Took a lot of pushing and shoving at the time, but it’s been so worth it in the long run.
 
CoffeeIcePapers said:
I wish there wasn't so much onus on the pilots to sort out complex corporate structures, legal filings with the FAA, insurance, etc. When I was contracting, this was a constant headache and risk to my certificate. It's especially difficult when the airplane is registered to some random entity, like Tailnumber, LLC.
Click to expand...

I’ve got a buddy who just signed on with the FAA. They spend days covering “operational control”. It stinks that it’s so difficult.

From the pilot side, if the LLC does nothing other than operate the airplane, it (almost always) needs to be a 135. The flight department company is a persistent trap. 134.5 isn’t going away, probably because it’s so rarely enforced that people really don’t know what it is.

Ours for example when it started 12 years ago was probably one of these. When I took over we moved the entities into the primary company and now have a lot of business, so we’re ok - however the lease arrangements etc are a mess, and I’m not sure it was any easier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Fixtur said:
"You're not expected to answer the phone but you need to be on two hour call out and are expected to be rested and prepared to fly but you're not considered on duty while waiting for the phone to ring but also you can't have a beer in case we call and you answer the phone, which you don't have to do, but if you aren't available to fly there might be employment consequences..."

I really appreciated the soft-shoe tap dancing routine that the chief pilot did while reciting that.
Click to expand...

Me: “Can I have a beer?”

CP: “Uh, well, no”

Me: “Then it’s not rest”

121 had a cow with the Whitlow decision. They got over it.
 
Fixtur said:
"You're not expected to answer the phone but you need to be on two hour call out and are expected to be rested and prepared to fly but you're not considered on duty while waiting for the phone to ring but also you can't have a beer in case we call and you answer the phone, which you don't have to do, but if you aren't available to fly there might be employment consequences..."

I really appreciated the soft-shoe tap dancing routine that the chief pilot did while reciting that.
Click to expand...


Ladies and Gentlemen...Mr. Johnny Paycheck!!

 
Fixtur said:
That’s a 20 gallon hat! Was it derby day?
Click to expand...

Lol. I know!!

Even though this was waaay before my time, it made me think of Sally Field as The Flying Nun. His sombrero had to generate some lift in a stiff wind!

12D5A5D1-1167-44E6-86EB-8FC3A27125E8.jpeg
 


Though I will give a tip of the (absurdly large) hat to Johnny Paycheck, this is the “Take this Job and Shove It” for me.
 
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