airframe inspector gets 2 yrs prison

[jsoceanlord]

i have a newspaper article about an IA in the oakland calif area who was sentenced to 2 years in prison for flasely ok'ing some annual inspections (pencil whipped?)

the article cited a plane with leaky manifolds and claimed possible deadly carbon monoxide poisoning could've resulted

 

[flywithastick]

the article cited a plane with leaky manifolds and claimed possible deadly carbon monoxide poisoning could've resulted

Leaky exhaust manifolds?! I thought they were supposed ot be leaky!

 

[flydog]

Last time I checked violating Federal Aviation Regs resulted in civil penalties not jail time. Must be a new kinder and gentler FAA.

How much jail time is a runway incursion?

 

[flywithastick]

Last time I checked violating Federal Aviation Regs resulted in civil penalties not jail time. Must be a new kinder and gentler FAA.

I thought the same. Read a post on another board about something called a federal felony. Thought this was some new urban legend until checking around a little. There is such a thing as a federal felony. just not too sure of how they relate to FAR violations though.

On the good side, it *may* allow more due process/Constitutional protection when confronting charges from the feds. Something almost non-existent with administrative action only.

 

[flydog]

Youre right a murderer certainly has more due process and rights than a pilot facing administrative action from the FAA

 

[GulfPilot]

Hey look folks, signing off an airplane as airworthy without performing the required inspection items, cannot be compared to a runway incursion accidently performed by a flightcrew member..MISTAKES performed by aircrew and mx crew alaike can cost lives, and we all strive to avoid mistakes through standard procedures, training etc..but willful misconduct should be treated as the crime it is..period.

 

[flywithastick]

MISTAKES performed by aircrew and mx crew alaike can cost lives, and we all strive to avoid mistakes through standard procedures, training etc..but willful misconduct should be treated as the crime it is..period. [/B]

This, I believe, is what's known as a Pandoras box.

How many pilots haven't pushed the mins on an IFR apch? "We'll just take a look..." Under this scenario, that might bring a federal felony worth your entire career and time in the pen.

When I first heard about this issue, falsified pilot log entries was the topic. Supposedly, padding your book could bring 5 yrs in the pen. That's too extreme, IMO.

Ironic. we can't even get murderers and child molestors kept in jail for more than 2 yrs.

 

[capt_zman]

What they should really be locked up for is charging $1299 for a vacuum pump that costs $400, plus 11.3 hours @ $75/hr to put it in.

All proof on my last bill. Now that's a crime.

 

[dmspilot00]

This was on AvWeb last week:

http://www.avweb.com/newswire/9_09a/briefs/182949-1.html

Bogus Aircraft Inspector Jailed

By Russ Niles
Newswriter


So, who's doing the 100-hour inspection on your airplane? Three owners who took their planes to a business at Hayward Executive Airport near Oakland, Calif., discovered the hard way that their annuals weren't worth the paper they were signed on. And one of them could have paid a heavier price. U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong sentenced James M. Hays, of nearby Lakeport, to two years in jail for falsely certifying the inspections on the aircraft. According to a report in the Oakland Tribune, Hays was a mechanic and owned Hays Aviation but he was not licensed to do inspections. After Hays had illegally signed off one of the aircraft, a properly credentialed inspector discovered an exhaust leak that could have allowed carbon monoxide to enter the cabin through the heater. A hearing will be held April 15 to determine the restitution Hays must pay the aircraft owners. He goes to jail the next day. He's also been stripped permanently of his mechanic and pilot certificates by the FAA.

 

[chrisdahut24]

"Bogus aircraft inspector"? Surely if he holds an A&P certificate he can perform 100 hour inspections, correct??