<! --- ---------------------------------- ---> <! --- INSERT THE PAGE TITLE INFO BELOW ---> <! --- ---------------------------------- ---> For Pilots <! --- ---------------------------------- ---> <! --- ---------------------------------- --->

Jump Law Group For Pilots

Aviation Division

Home Blog Links Contact Us Real Estate NASA Public Speaking

I know what you are thinking. Why would you ever need an attorney. You are a reasonable person, the FAA will surely listen to reason.

After all, we're all striving to be good pilots and stay within the rules, a little mistake here or there will be forgiven! Right?

Let me tell you some stories about some real life cases.

There is the story of the woman pilot who left her medical certificate in her other purse that she had just cleaned out. After a ramp check, she could not produce her certificate, but she had a validly issued one. Result? FAA suspended her license.

There is the story of the pilot who applied for his ATP license with over 1700 hours. He only needed 1500 to qualify. However, he had a small problem. A few hours had been spent with another commercial pilot in a King Air. The charter pilot allowed the applicant to sit right seat. The applicant logged the time. So did the charter pilot. When the applicant provided his log books for auditing, the discrepancy was found. The applicant volunteered that he had made a mistake in logging the time and that this should be deducted from his total applicant time. Seems reasonable, correct? Not to the FAA, not only did they deny the offer to amend, they denied his ATP certificate and then REVOKED his commercial ticket. The pilot lost his job and his career because of a simple mistake, but the FAA saw it as falsifying his log books.

Look, you spent thousands of dollars obtaining those ratings, and you can lose them in an instant. Every flight we take involves a minimum of one violation of the FARS. It happens and for the most part, they are never noticed. But the fact of the matter remains, that the FAA has a positive duty to investigate all known infractions. A mere phone call from a neighbor at any airport who thought you approached too low and fast can open a needless investigation into your life.

If you are approached by an FAA investigator or have cause to think you might be the subject of an investigation, pick up the phone and call me first. I will sit down with you and together we will review the situation. This is your license we are talking about. It is a privelege to have, not a right. You need to do everything in your power to ensure that you keep that privelege.

Often times, I receive a phone call from a client who has waited until his 'informal' meeting with the FAA. This is too late. You need someone to be advocating for you and guiding you from the earliest possible moment. Before you speak to the FAA, you need an advocate who is looking out for your best interests. Because the FAA isn't. The FAA doesn't represent you and they never will. Don't be fooled into thinking that the FAA will be reasonable with you. Because you don't want it to be you who loses their entire career for the improper recording of a few hours of flight time.

Please take the time to review some of the NTSB opinions on my website. You can get an impression of what occurs when the FAA conducts an investigation. I am an attorney and a pilot. You need an advocate who understands what you went through to get that ticket and what it means to keep it. Anything less is not an effective use of your time or money.