Follow Up to Certified Letter from the FAA

[bobbysamd]

609ing (709ing) instructors

In my previous position I was a chief pilot for a 141 school and I saw several instructors receive these rides . . . .

This must be a recent development. I never heard of an instructor being 609'd for a low pass rate until I read it here yesterday.

Also as previously posted, be sure to contact a lawyer before saying anything to the FSDO . . . . They may be perfectly polite, but then again they may not and anytime you are discussing this with them they are supposed to be questioning you to gather evidence . . . .

I really must second this advice, and not because I work for attorneys. Bringing a lawyer with you to FSDO might antagonize some ASIs, but having one by your side is your right and an excellent buffer to ensure that your rights and privileges are protected.

To that end, Avweb has produced an excellent series of articles on protecting your tickets. An excellent book to read on aviation law is Practical Aviation Law by J. Scott Hamilton. This book should be in every pilot's library.

 

[avbug]

You've already blown the first solid piece of advice you were given; don't talk to the FAA until you've spoken to an attorney. Why ask for the advice or input if you're not going to listen? You didn't even wait a day before doing the worst and potentially most foolish thing you could do. At this point asking for advice is a little like asking for a sandwich and then throwing it away.

I'm more than a little surprised at the number of posters who have questioned the FAA's propriety in investigating an instructor with higher than a 30% failure rate. The policy of the Administrator to conduct surveillance for instructors having this high a policy rate has been in effect and published as part of the general aviation operations inspectors handbook for a very long time. This is nothing new.

An instructor with a failure rate that high should be examined closely. Surveillance of such an instructor is warranted. This doesn't mean that the instructor is automatically at fault, or that the instructor is a bad instructor. It does throw up a red flag, however, if the instructor is sending applicants up for examination who are unable to pass the exams. A high failure rate is only a symptom...but a critical one. The Administrator is right to take a hard look at the records of instructors.

An instructor with a poor record should be carefully considered, and re-evaluated as necessary. Don't speed if you don't want to be caught. Don't recommend students until you're confident in their abilities, and the student is confident. You should look at every endorsement as hanging your certificate and reputation on the line, and never provide an endorsement until the student is fully prepared to represent you and make you proud.

If you do any less, you should be closely examined.

 

[PropsForward]

AvBug,

How about a CFI sending a lot of Inital CFI's where the national fail rate is around 95%. Should a CFI just limit their recommendations of Initals to 10% of their student base?