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??

 

[flydog]

All this crap is getting out of hand

I had a mechanic who wired my voltage regulator backwards and I had an electrical fire in flight. So along this line of thinking he should be sentenced to life imprisonment

 

[FearlessFreep]

There is a lot more to this story than meets eye. I am familiar with much of the happenings. First off this individual is not and never has been an IA. He is only an A & P. If you talk with him though he will tell you he is an aeronautical engineer.

The interesting thing that I remember was seeing an engine that had a crack in the case that this guy just took a heliarc welder to in an attempt to fix the crack. Any moron knows that this is an illegal fix, not only that it just won't work. He did this while the engine was still on the aircraft full of oil. Then saw the engine pulled off the plane on a bench him with grinder in hand removing the damaged area for more subsequent repair attempts. After JB weld attempts that did not work, sealed it up with boat bilge epoxy from Western Marine, painted and re-hung it on the aircraft. When the new owner of the aircraft had an emergency landing in it the feds found grinding remnants still in the oil.

Signing off aircraft annuals with a dead IA's (about two years dead) signature and number is not a real good thing to do. Kinda gets the feds a bit upset.

Another interesting note is that while on the stand in court he started yelling and blaming the FAA Inspector for all his misfortune, stating that he should have killed the fed when he had the chance.

I guess he didn't make a friend with the judge that day.

There are many, many other things that this guy has done. He is just **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** lucky that his actions did not kill anyone. He had left a trail of gross incompetence that finally caught up with him.

I am usually very tolerant and understanding that we all make mistakes, that no one is ever perfect. I know that for the most part we all try to do the very best. In this case this individual's actions were criminal and endangered the lives of many people. A number of people at the airport thought he got off easy with just two years. I certainly do not cry any salty tears for this guy.

 

[flywithastick]

Age must be mellowing me... because I'm still not sure this guy should get jail time. Permanent revocation of certificates and lawsuits into the stoneage - but jail? I'm just not sure.

Start throwing more people in jail, aviation will shrink and get more expensive - it's guranteed. I just don't see a rampant, out of control safety problem.

Caveat Emptor!

 

[CatYaaak]

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.

I agree GulfPilot. Those here that can't see the difference have completely lost their frame of reference. What seems to escape them is them is that this WILLFUL misconduct involved leaking manifold/carbon monoxide, a well-known and documented silent killer in light aircraft. I wouldn't be suprised if the long list of accidents attributed to it played a role in the severity of the sentence. I'm glad he's going away for awhile.

What's incredible to me is that those here bemoaning this sentence seem to think that holding an Airman's Certificate somehow makes you immune to criminal penalties when there is INTENT to act negligently in a way that could result in injury or death. If they were under the impressiong that losing their licences or civil penalties are the maximum NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO, then it's good they're getting this reality check.

My bet is that they'd change their tune if this idiot had never had Certificates in the first place, printed them up in his basement, and had worked on their aircraft.

 

[CatYaaak]

All this crap is getting out of hand

I had a mechanic who wired my voltage regulator backwards and I had an electrical fire in flight. So along this line of thinking he should be sentenced to life imprisonment

Well flydog, if you do feel that way then be man of action, instead of empty words, and try and reverse this crap (if that's what you think it is) by hiring this "victim of insustice" when he emerges from prison, if you're in a position to do so. Make him your personal Mech for all the aircraft you fly. No doubt after a few hours at a Kinko's he will even be able to present fresh Certificates to you, an just as valid as his AI was when he signed off the inpection that got him...uhhh...persecuted?...in the first place. Don't forget to pay him well for his expertise (after all, you have always made it quite clear to us how you feel aboutwhores).

Just curious, I wonder how your unwitting 135 pax would feel about your "let-him-go-cuz-next-they-could-be-after-me" attitude towards falsification of mechanical inspections by non-qualified and willfully negligent personnel? Call me crazy, but they just might form an opinion on you, based on what yours is.

Hey, you know that Westwind horizontal stab (that's something you can't fly without, by the way) jackscrew AD that subjected the entire fleet to their overhaul and increased inspections? Sure hope yours are being done by non-willfully-negligent people and not just pencil-whipped, because after all, it's not something you can check on a preflight, and your aerobatic skills (nor mine) sure ain't gonna mean squat if it comes unglued.

Happy flying!

 

[Groucho]

FAR violations and jail time

This situaition led me to a book from a college aviation law course, Practical Aviation Law, J. Scott Hamiliton.

"Most FAR violations are not crimes and the courts have held that the FAA does not have to advise you or your legal rights before taking statements." Chapter 2 pg. 29. Later on however on page 51, there is a section on falsification. "It is both an FAR violation and a federal felony (major crime) to make a false statement on any federal form or in your pilot logbooks or other documents you maintain or present to the FAA to show FAR compliance, qualification for a certificate or rating, or prove your currency."

The airframe/powerplant logbooks are definetly a federal form when the IA makes an annual inspection entry and knowingly falsifies the entry

"For the FAR violation the FAA will rvoke every certificate and rating you hold." "For the federal felony the U.S. attorney will file criminal charges against you punishable by up to five years in a dederal prision and or a $250,000 fine."

"Nothing infurates the FAA more than being lied to. This is because the system is largely an honor system of self reporting. For this reason, the FAA and the Justice department (of which the U.S. Attorneys office is a part) prosecutes falsification cases with a special vengeance"

 

[CatYaaak]

Re: FAR violations and jail time

"I
The airframe/powerplant logbooks are definetly a federal form when the IA makes an annual inspection entry and knowingly falsifies the entry

"For the FAR violation the FAA will rvoke every certificate and rating you hold." "For the federal felony the U.S. attorney will file criminal charges against you punishable by up to five years in a dederal prision and or a $250,000 fine."

Well, there you go (thanks for copying this Groucho). For those paranoid souls here who think this applies to piloting mistakes, you can stop cowering under your covers. Please note the word "knowingly" in the first paragraph. One little word means a world of difference.

He11, the guy shoulda gotten the full 5 years.