Originally Posted by
1wife2airlines
That was "tongue in cheek" and I wouldn't castigate that pilot for not alerting the FAA as he might not even be aware of the violations and if he was might be reluctant due to possible retaliation in that job market.
You say the operator had a long history of illegal charters. Was the FAA powerless to stop that or was he penalized but the the fines were not onerous?
FSDOs are the red headed stepchild of the FAA when it comes to 135/ corporate operators. I couldn’t meet my POI (91 large cabin) for months at a time. They’re staffed with hard pressed individuals who frequently have little or no GA experience. I’m not sure which was worst, ex-airline or ex-mil POIs. I battled over LOAs where the FSDO had little idea of current equippage or capabilities. One told me not to worry about a RVSM letter being delayed for weeks because bizjets fly in the US and ATC can clear thru RVSM to F430. Excuse me, my plane has a trip to India next week, LOA, please.
GF