Originally Posted by
EasternATC
Years ago, an ASI told me it was typically six months, and this was derived from NTSB rulings on freshness of the offense. YMMV.
Originally Posted by
JohnBurke
Can you say "stale complaint" rule?
Yes, the NTSB has held that the offender should be at least notified of an investigation within six months. Pilot Bill of Rights re-inforces the notification requirement.
But the obvious exemption to that would be that the six month stale complaint window probably doesn't start until AFTER the FAA becomes aware (or should have been aware) of the violation. They couldn't extend that to extreme lengths (ie deacades) but I would be careful bragging about fairly recent misdeeds on the internet.
I don't think there is a formal statute of limitations for FARs.