FAA Pursuit of Dated Violations
#1
Gets Weekends Off
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Joined APC: Dec 2014
Position: E175 FO
Posts: 114
FAA Pursuit of Dated Violations
Some fellow pilots and I were joking about idiotic misdeeds of yesteryear (as groups of layover guys sometimes will do) at a bar. Many of these types of stories could involve busting FARs, flying in a "reckless or careless manner", etc if they were indeed true to fact and not embellished or hyperbolized like most fishing [or flying] stories of days gone by.
Then the discussion turned to "what if some FAA guy is sitting here listening to us and somehow knew who we were?"
One of the guys said "well, the statute of limitations has surely run its course." At this point, another guy's face became somber and he mentioned that there is in fact no statute of limitations. A buddy of his received an LOI for something that had occurred YEARS prior!!
He said his buddy had ended up spending thousands to fight a certificate action for a misdeed at a former employer, with only vague material evidence--mostly hearsay. My BS meter would have been going crazy if my paranoia about the implications that has on a career hadn't done so first. Surely there must be some standard of corpus delicti or similar?
SOOO, esteemed APC people: what would it take for the FAA to investigate an event that happened years in the past? If an inspector had been a fly on the wall in our barroom confessional, would they have scope or authority? Say they see a picture or video or something?
Then the discussion turned to "what if some FAA guy is sitting here listening to us and somehow knew who we were?"
One of the guys said "well, the statute of limitations has surely run its course." At this point, another guy's face became somber and he mentioned that there is in fact no statute of limitations. A buddy of his received an LOI for something that had occurred YEARS prior!!
He said his buddy had ended up spending thousands to fight a certificate action for a misdeed at a former employer, with only vague material evidence--mostly hearsay. My BS meter would have been going crazy if my paranoia about the implications that has on a career hadn't done so first. Surely there must be some standard of corpus delicti or similar?
SOOO, esteemed APC people: what would it take for the FAA to investigate an event that happened years in the past? If an inspector had been a fly on the wall in our barroom confessional, would they have scope or authority? Say they see a picture or video or something?
Last edited by HeWhoRazethAll; 02-15-2017 at 02:03 PM.
#3
About a THOUSAND more inspectors probably!
Seriously - they have enough CURRENT stuff on their plate to deal with, they don't need a 'Cold Case' unit. Plus - that would be very in tune with the new 'Compliance Philosophy' of the new AFS. That is my opinion in any case.
Seriously - they have enough CURRENT stuff on their plate to deal with, they don't need a 'Cold Case' unit. Plus - that would be very in tune with the new 'Compliance Philosophy' of the new AFS. That is my opinion in any case.
#5
Generally yes, but there are a few exceptions. Google FAA Order 2150.3. Search for "time limit" within. Easy to find. If it is one of those exceptions, it's likely one of those "crime of the century" type deals, something that affected or had the potential to affect a lot of people with blatant reckless activity (not just breaking regs, but premeditated). They are rare. Civil penalties against companies are a bit different.
#6
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,008
SOOO, esteemed APC people: what would it take for the FAA to investigate an event that happened years in the past? If an inspector had been a fly on the wall in our barroom confessional, would they have scope or authority? Say they see a picture or video or something?
#7
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.
#9
#10
You highly inflated view of government employees' powers and desires. They are not ten-foot tall, all-knowing, all-seeing giants. Well, except for USMCFLYR.. They don't the time, motivation or incentive to open cold case flying violations.
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