I had the occasion to use the AOPA plan a couple of years ago after landing one day and receiving that dreaded telephone call from Potomac approach suggesting that I may have entered restricted airspace sometime during my flight. It worked out great for me. I telephoned AOPA and spoke to a legal advisor who gave me some preliminary advice and who also gave me the names of several lawyers on the plan who were close to me. I checked them out as best I could and picked one. I thought he was terrific. He was experienced in enforcement actions and knew the key people at the local FSDO. He went over the matter with me and sent a letter to the FAA responding to the letter they had sent me. Fortunately, the FAA concluded there was no violation and I never found out how good the lawyer really was.
Under this plan, AOPA has about 600 lawyers on retainer and who have agreed to a reduced fee. You can pick any one of the 600. If you select one of those lawyers they bill AOPA directly. If you end up appealing to the NTSB, you will have to pay 20% of the fee (about $30 and hour), but hey, for $39 a year, its a great deal.
You can retain any lawyer you want, but AOPA won't pay more than its prearranged fee with the plan lawyers... but still.
I think its a great plan, but, having said all this, I think that if flying were my full time job, I would want a little more protection.
Under this plan, AOPA has about 600 lawyers on retainer and who have agreed to a reduced fee. You can pick any one of the 600. If you select one of those lawyers they bill AOPA directly. If you end up appealing to the NTSB, you will have to pay 20% of the fee (about $30 and hour), but hey, for $39 a year, its a great deal.
You can retain any lawyer you want, but AOPA won't pay more than its prearranged fee with the plan lawyers... but still.
I think its a great plan, but, having said all this, I think that if flying were my full time job, I would want a little more protection.
