Padding the book

[pilotyip]

Then again there is one of the three famous lies, "The check is in the mail", "I am only stopping for one beer" and "There are no false entries in my logbook". Things such as logging night landing 58 minures after sunset, an instrurtment approach without a view limiting device, or PIC time when acting as a co-captain and the other guy was monitering the autopilot.

 

[Tired Soul]

If you had a "friend" who completely padded his/her logbook (to the tune of about 1,000 PIC time, night, and actual IFR) and was offered a job, would you do anything about it?

Yes, notify the friendly POI of the company that has offered him/her the job.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

I'd dime on this guy. It's almost your duty. Seriously. It's a slap in the face for those who worked hard acquiring their time.

 

[Erlanger]

If you had a "friend" who completely padded his/her logbook (to the tune of about 1,000 PIC time, night, and actual IFR) and was offered a job, would you do anything about it?

This clown really has about 500 TT verifiable by me and his/her previous instructor. Yes, I may be a little bit bitter since I am currently furloughed from my flying job AND that it took me over 15 years to get to where I am...

Thoughts?

BTW, we're not talking about a piston job or an instructing job.

I think you should turn him into the local FSDO and contact his employer. You should beable to be anonymous. Seriously. We don't need people like this. We already have experienced pilots screwing things up. We don't need his BSing, his attitude and inexperience to cause something to happen that causes new rules and regs and makes our job harder to do.

 

[ackattacker]

It is a tricky situation. In the past I have been aware of some of this kind of thing going on and pretty much figured it's none of my business.

Now I'm a little more wary. These guys have no business in aviation. Dishonesty of that nature carries over into other aspects of life and career. And other peoples *lives* are on the line.

It sucks, but I say turn him in.

 

[Guitar rocker]

I know someone that did the same thing....hes a cptn now for a major airline. Everyone knew that he did it. There were others that did the same thing at this commuter that I worked at...and they all got away with it. It wasnt right either. As avbug mentioned, you might not be able to dis-prove his flying time from flight aware. If you know that you can not disprove it as a fact, as someone else said, Id tend to my own garden.

 

[dondk]

everyone knows at least one that has done this, everyone knows a handful of others they suspect. If they can get away with it, oh well, but we also know those who have done it and gotten caught.

It is up to that person if it is worth it. Better yet, if you are going to "pad" you might as well make it worth it. Padding 100 hours is nothing, padding 1,000 or more, well that is a different story. For those that pad 1000 or more, well, they are probably crappy pilots and need to do it!

Would I dime him out? I would give him/her the chance to make it right first, then base your decision on his reaction.

My own personal side to this... 15 years ago I was turned over to the FAA for ONE questionable entry in my logbook. My situation was simple, I did that AOPA mentor pilot thingy and my mentor took me up. No dual, no PIC just a simple flight. My overzealous instructor saw the entry, questioned it, and chose not to discuss it but send me and my pilot mentor to the FAA. In the end, my entry found to be legal, but I made sure that instructor knew it, I let everyone know the type of person he was. That included his boss, who canned him for concerns of judgment. To this day I have not forgotten his name, if you are going to roll over on the person, make sure you got your facts straight. Having it backfire on you may not be worth the price in the end.

 

[DX Rick]

My own personal side to this... 15 years ago I was turned over to the FAA for ONE questionable entry in my logbook. My situation was simple, I did that AOPA mentor pilot thingy and my mentor took me up. No dual, no PIC just a simple flight. My overzealous instructor saw the entry, questioned it, and chose not to discuss it but send me and my pilot mentor to the FAA. In the end, my entry found to be legal, but I made sure that instructor knew it, I let everyone know the type of person he was. That included his boss, who canned him for concerns of judgment. To this day I have not forgotten his name, if you are going to roll over on the person, make sure you got your facts straight. Having it backfire on you may not be worth the price in the end.

Wow, what a prick!
I know a guy who frequents this message board, he went from 300TT to 900TT in the matter of 2-3 weeks. He was trying to get hired from the inside to a regional carrier that is now defunked. Before he could get into a class, he was fired for hacking into the airline Presidents email and spreading his emails across FI.com.
He had a friend in Hawaii who let him use his Aztek for free, and the friend also paid for the gas.
The guy now flies for PCL.

 

[Tired Soul]

Use to know a character who would log sitting in the backseat of a Multi.
Didn't help that the Chief Flight Instructor told his that it was OK to get his 50 ME this way to start instructing on it.
Told him he was an @ss but he was my roomy at the time.
Impossible to prove unless you subpoena the records of the school.

if you are going to roll over on the person, make sure you got your facts straight

Absolutely.

 

[Flightdawg]

Then again there is one of the three famous lies, "The check is in the mail", "I am only stopping for one beer" and "There are no false entries in my logbook". Things such as logging night landing 58 minures after sunset, an instrurtment approach without a view limiting device, or PIC time when acting as a co-captain and the other guy was monitering the autopilot.

There's a difference between a dubious entry such as 58 minutes after sunset and flat out lying about flying at all. Sure, was it 0.3 of IMC or 0.4? We've all had to make that call and many may have given themselves the benefit of the doubt. It's another thing to log instrument time without the benefit of an airplane or from the backseat.

Dropping a dime on this guy is a judgment call. Whether or not it does any good is up to the FAA. They're short-handed and don't have time to investigate pilots unless some hard documentation is provided in the complaint.

Two things to keep in mind are:

1. New hire pilots are usually on probation. A call to the Chief Pilot may cause them to review the pilot with a little more detail than normal.

2. Falsified logbooks, especially those padded as thickly as the one described, have the disadvantage of showing a pilot with flying skills subpar for their amount of logged flight experience. It doesn't take long for an airline instructor, airline captain or aircraft commander to recognize the skill and experience level of the pilot with whom they are paired without taking a peek at their log book.