A Squared said:
Well, unless I'm mistaken, in some jurisdictions you can get charged with operatin under the influence if you are slleping in the back seat, as long as you have the keys in your possession. That's already a pretty large stretch of the definition of "operating".
Along those same lines, an airplane owner once got violated for reckless operation even though he could prove that on the day of the incident, he was in another state and could not possible have been in the plane. It was however his plane, and by authorizing the person to fly it he himself fit the Part 1 definition of "operate"
In scenario one, that could happen in Wisconsin. I'm not going to look up the law or search any DUI lawyer's website FAQ's right now, but I might tomorrow, If have some time. DUI lawyers usually have some good FAQ stuff on their sites. I have heard of that scenario happening...so lock yourself in the trunk with one of the 60-40 split seats cracked and make sure your keys are hidden in the remote opening gas lid. Dumb cops wouldn't think to there and they aren't your pockets.
Here is a good one for ya...and it's mucho verifiable. Heard it straight from the pilots mouth himself. Pilot boy was driving his car on the privately owned, public use runway at Shiocton WI at night.
Town cop stops him and makes him do the stupid human tricks routine and with his observation of this as DUI probable cause, takes him in for the breath test. Dude blows way more than a .08 and is charged with DUI in Wisconsin.
Pilot dude gets a lawyer and the case is thrown out, because the officer didn't have the authority to arrest or detain the driver on private property, because no one called in and made a complaint. In Wisconsin, there are three tickets an officer can issue on private property...hit and run, reckless driving and DUI. But that's only after somone calls in a complaint. The officer can't just assume a position on private property and start issuing citations for something, just because he's bored...someone has to call in request that action be taken.
Then to top it off...the Shiocton Flier's Club, the pilot group that owns the airport, told the Chief to keep his men off airport property unless there is a call for service. Over the years, there had been times when the Shiocton police had made patrols on private property while people were camping at the airport. Which up front sounds kind of nice of the city, donating all those public resources to the private flier's club, but how would you like it if the cops drove around your farm or similar property in the middle of the night?
This is not an old story, this was relayed to me last summer by the guy that it happened to and was verified by the other jump pilots and the jumpers.
As far as your reference to FARS and operation...what an FAA administrative judge might do to someone in the case of "operation" is one thing. What a state a state criminal trial may bear out is quite something else.
