Don't fill out the NASA report, you did nothing wrong. NASA will find no error on your part to put into a data base from your report. If for some strange reason your NASA report is used to protect your certificate, you can not use the NASA get out of jail card for another 5 years. Save NASA for something bigger.
NASA does not need, nor look for an error on the part of a reporting party to include an ASRS report in the ASRS database. All reports go in the database. Again, the ASRS program is not designed for reporting errors. It's designed for safety related issues. If you have been involved in a situation in which you may face legal consequences, then you are protected from prosecution based on the report, in order to encourage you to freely donate your story to the database. That's the promise of NASA in the ASRS program.
The other half of the pledge comes from the FAA, which offers as a gift to also encourage you to contribute, the waiving of any sanction arising out of enforcement related to the incident written in the report. This is a side benifit designed to protect the reporter, and encourage honesty in reporting. Accordingly, there is no requirement to be guilty or not guilty of an enforceable action when writing a safety report. I've written them myself when finding a safety issue at an airport, over errors found on aeronautical charts or proceedures, and multiple other reasons for which I had no stake but to contribue to safety. That's what the program is for.
If I commit an error, however, the program encourages me to speak up, to add my experience to the pile, by promising not to beat me up for it. Individually, the FAA promises (and has never broken that promise) not to use the report against me. That's the way it works, and it is ironclad.
Pilots should forward reports frequently. The program depends on it. For the pilot who is itnerested in the legal benifits of contributing to the program, then making frequent contributions any time anything could have the slightest hint of any legal ramifications is only in the best interests of the pilot. The pilot should contribute often.
The FAA has no way of knowing who contributed the report. The report is inspected and sanitized. Names, numbers and other data which might identify the reporter or others, is removed, before the report is added to the database. If the FAA reads the report, the FAA has no way of knowing who wrote it or who is involved. The only identification associated with the report is the identity strip, which is date and time stamped and returned to the submitter.
This identity strip is very important, because it is NOT protected by the program. If the person submitting the report admits to a violation in the title line of the identity strip, this CAN and HAS been used against the pilot...becuase iit is not part of the body of the report and is not protected. The FAA cannot use the report against the pilot, and cannot proceed with enforcement action based on something learned from the report. If the FAA has other evidence and learns of the incident from other than the report (including the title/identity strip), then the FAA CAN proceed with enforcement action.
If enforcement action is sought, the FAA can proceed right through applying any penalty, which will go on the record of the airman. To encourage the open participation in the program the FAA has offered the golden bullet to which many here have alluded...you'll still have a suspension or revocation on your record...but your certificate won't actually get suspended or revoked. It's an administrative exercise...you get to keep your certificate and keep on working, even though the paperwork says you've been suspended. That's the magic of the program, and that's the legal protection of the program.
So let's say the original poster does apply under the program. He submits his form, and in a month, receives a Letter of Investigation and is invited to a formal conference with the FAA. At that time, he may or may not elect to show the title strip associated with the incident. He may keep it confidential. Let's say it goes as far as a 90 day suspension. He doesn't have to reveal the report if he doesn't want to. The FAA won't know about the report unless he tells them. So he waits.
Lo and behold! The FAA opts for enforcement action. He now has a choice. He can reveal the report, prove that it was sent within ten days, and accept the suspension but keep his certificate and keep flying...or he can keep the report confidential, and fight the enforcement action. His choice. If he doesn't use the report to protect his certificate, then it doesn't compromise him for years to come. In fact, he can use another report to defend himself tomorrow. or the next day, or the next, if he likes. As much as he likes. There is NOTHING about sending in the report which prevents him from using another report later, the next day, three months from now, or a year later. Nothing.
Have you not read anyone elses posts? The NASA report is NOT a get out of jail free card. You can only self-diclose pilot error when it is caused by a safety related error. I think many of us said that in many different ways.
No, just you, and you keep saying it wrong. Again, it's an ASRS report, not a "NASA" report. You can report for all kinds of reasons, but the bottom line is tha that the report is there to contribute to safety across the board. The report will protect you from paying the penalty, but not against the administrative action associated with the penalty.
[FONT="]You are giving bad advice for insisting that the ASRS system provides a legal shield.
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Actually it does, within the clearly defined parameters set forth by the program, with respect to the penalties to be imposed by the FAA, and against prosecution based on the contents of the body of the report.
File the report. Stick to the facts, don't treat it like a soapbox and a legal defense. It's there to report safety related issues, and if you believe your situation may be safety related, report it...only you can decide if it's truly safety related...and at a minimum, reporting protects you from penalties that may be imposed by the FAA associated with the incident about which you report.
With respect to an attorney, waiting until a LOI (letter of investigation) is received is not the correct timing to seek consultation. Get on a legal plan, and consult an attorney right off the bat. It may be the cheapest money you spend.