Responsible?

[Fly High]

Someone is always pilot in command.

Being pilot in command doesn't necessarily mean one will experience the greatest burden in enforcement action; it's a little more complicated than that.

Who will suffer enforcement action? Get very, very specific, and we'll have a place to start.

There is no issue at hand to speak of. It is just a question. I have heard a few different versions of who will suffer enforcement action, as you can see from the comments mentioned above, and I am just curious as to what the black and white answer is. I do realize that there is always a PIC, but will the Person Manipulating the Controls be the one to take the brunt of the enforcement action in the event that something happens? Let's use the aircraft that was mentioned above-King Air 200. The 200 is a single pilot airplane but many P.91 companies operate it with a 2 pilot crew. Let's say that the pilot in the left seat/pilot flying is a 12,000 hour pilot that flies now days in the right seat of Citations and Hawkers for a living but once a week he fills in as a part time pilot for this company. He has all of the proper ratings-Commercial, Inst, Multi. The pilot in the right seat is a 13,000 hour pilot that flies full time for this company and he has his ATP. If there is an error during any phase of the flight, from engine start up to engine shut down, who would be the one responsible for the aircraft in the eyes of the FAA? As we all know, something can happen at any time, such as smack a fuel truck with a wing and bend the wing or hit a taxi light on a taxiway that is covered in ice in New England or even something major such as a crash where 1/2 of the people on board are killed. If the FAA FSDO is dispatched out to cover an accident, the FAA has to have some guidance as to which donkey to pin the tail on. I do not believe that the FAA has the pilots draw straws and whoever chooses the short straw loses. Is it all based off of who is listed on the company paperwork as PIC? Is it based off of the name of the PIC when the flight plan was filed on FLTPLAN.COM? Is it based off of experience or ratings? Is it based off of who had their hands on the controls when the issue happened? As you can see from above, there are many rumors and different beliefs out there as to what would happen. Why is there no black and white? I can not believe that the regs consist of 1,000 pages of fluff but this is not spelled out. I have searched the Internet from top to bottom and I have read a few stories as to Joe Blow said this or Tom John said this but I can not find THE ANSWER!

Hope this helps! I appreciate your time!

 

[nosehair]

I can not find THE ANSWER!

There is no black-and-white answer, Sir.

Each case is judged individually. The PIC is looked at first, but if the qualified judges of the situation determine that a qualified passenger/pilot could have, and should have taken action and didn't, or did an action that helped cause the violatable offense, then he will share in the punisment.

In effect, each flight is a verbal contract between the 2 pilots, and if you don't have the contract in specific detailed writing, then the Feds will decide that for you.

 

[avbug]

I have searched the Internet from top to bottom and I have read a few stories as to Joe Blow said this or Tom John said this but I can not find THE ANSWER!

Of course you can't find the answer, because you've provided no specifics.

Every single case will be determined individually; the details of every incident are critical to answering your question. There is no general rule of thumb here; first officers have been cited where the captain was not, even though the captain was flying and deviated and caused a violation...because the captain was responding to urgent incorrect and inappropriate input from the first officer. Flight instructors have been cited, even though not the PIC and not flyin the airplane, and in some cases pilots who were present but not flying in any capacity were cited.

The exact, detailed specifics are necessary to address any such question. You're asking in such general detail that no reply is possible, nor appropriate.

 

[midlifeflyer]

but I can not find THE ANSWER!

You have THE ANSWER. Both nosehair and avbug gave it to you.

Each case stands on it own. Whether one pilot or the other or both or neither face enforcement action depends on what happened, who was in charge, who had what duties, and how they executed them.

The PIC for the flight will always get looked at, because that person, by regulation, bears ultimate responsibility for a flight. But that doesn't mean others on the aircraft have no responsibility.

 

[LegacyDriver]

First off, forget about all this stuff about dispatch, paperwork, etc....that all deals with airlines that issue a dispatch release, or 135 operations that "assign" a PIC.

In the corporate world there isn't any of that.

If you've filed a flight plan the FAA will come looking for who's name is in box 14.

Regardless of who has "higher" ratings, etc....

I believe that's what we said...

 

[avbug]

If you've filed a flight plan the FAA will come looking for who's name is in box 14.

Regardless of who has "higher" ratings, etc....

It's not what we all said in the least. Who's name is in the PIC box in the flight plan has little to do with who ends up getting violated.

Again, the specific circumstances of the event are what needs to be considered. Generalities such as who's name is on the flight plan is far too general to be considered of value in attempting to determine who gets tagged for what.

 

[LegacyDriver]

Well, in this day and age I think the safe bet is to assume you'll both get nailed.