Helij3t

That's like spitting out time and money to train again. It's quite unfortunate but I think the time frame is too tight. Wx permitting too. I wish all those affected the best of luck in their upcoming check rides both at home and overseas.

firefighterplt

Buddy’s dad was an A-10 driver way back in the day. Got his AMEL and MEI through mil equivalency. FSDO told him the A-10 wasn’t center thrust, and OKC never kicked it back. Cool. He went on to teach dozens of guys how to fly piston twins over the years.

Way down the road, the FAA figured out that he shouldn’t have been given the unrestricted AMEL and corresponding MEI because the jet was then considered center thrust. Threatened to pull his ME ratings and the ME ratings of every student he taught. The FAA claimed that none of their dual received was valid.

My memory on the details is foggy, but if I remember correctly, he fought for the students—basically if the training wasn’t up to par, how did they pass the ride with the DPE? I believe they ended up either leaving the students alone or having them re-test, and he surrendered his MEI.

SoFloFlyer

That’s asinine. The FAA is absolute garbage sometimes. I just don’t understand their logic.

TiredSoul

Sometimes?....

USMCFLYR

Who is the ‘they love in this logic of “how did they” let this go on so long?
The ‘they’d’ are an unscrupulous DPE and all of the unscrupulous pilots who loved the fact they THEY got an easy/incomplete/or nonexistent checkride and still walked away with their new ticket.

Some of the posters also need to actually read the document to understand how different certificates and such are handle or the scheduling is being arraigned (e.g. no you don’t need to take your PVT checkride again if you are flying a -777)

ObadiahDogberry

I used to think that too...until I started dealing with EASA. The FAA is a model of efficiency and wonderful customer service when compared to most CAAs that fall under the EASA banner. Just for an example, a colleague who had a German license and had his bag with his license stolen on a train. He was grounded, without pay, until he could get a new license. No online forms, or immediate verification/authorization like with the FAA. No, he had to snail mail all of his original written test and check ride reports, plus send a notarized copy of his passport. It took over two months for him to get a new license. Some CAAs, like in Spain or Italy, it can take in excess of six months. If you can find a CAA in EASA that can do it in under two weeks, that is an efficient CAA. So yeah, the FAA now looks quite reasonable and efficient in comparison. Still, this situation sucks for the innocent people involved. Don't feel sorry for the folks who accepted the license without the check ride though, they deserve it for cheating the system.

TiredSoul

I seriously doubt that story as the Germans are very efficient and straight laced.
We musst have ze paperz kinda thing.
The UK CAA? They actually answer emails.....unlike a certain Federal Administration in the USA


So here’s my question: You’ve been given a certificate by lazy Santa over here and now you’ve got to take a checkride with a Fed who is most likely only legally not practically b-a-r-e-l-y current in a light single let alone proficient in giving checkrides.
How is that any better?

As far as out foreign friends that need to come back and take a ride....
If you have a foreign conversion based on a US certificate (that has no expiration date) a foreign aviation administration will have no knowledge of any certificates that have been declared ‘invalid’ or otherwise suspended or revoked. These data bases are not connected and information is not shared or disseminated.
Yea for European privacy laws.
So you have a valid Europa-land conversion and your US certificate is at the bottom of a drawer unless it needs to be carried.

Rampcheck:
Papiere und schnell!
Hands over EASA conversion and US certificate.

ObadiahDogberry

Germans are nowhere near as efficient and straight laced as you'd think. In so many ways Germany is like going back in time 30 years. In most smaller cities it is hard to find a place that accepts credit cards. Since living in Europe I have completely abandoned cash except when I go to Germany. I have been rudely surprised by Germany's love affair with cash more than once. Last summer I had to spend an hour running around Hildesheim in a downpour trying to find an ATM because we couldn't find a restaurant that would take cards. Happened a few years ago on the outskirts of Munich as well. I am sure you don't need to be reminded of the efficiency of the new Berlin airport. My experiences with Germany have been nowhere near as efficient as they have been in their neighboring countries, particularly the ones to the north. I have worked with many German pilots for the past several years, and none of them are happy with the German CAA, and the general recommendation in Europe is, if possible, to avoid getting licensed through Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Germany because they all are well known for headaches.

The UK CAA does work pretty well. I did my ATPL theory exams through the UK. But they are known for being extremely pedantic and very much in love with paperwork and high fees.

Personally I have worked with the UK, Irish, and Danish authorities and the FAA beats them all. Those three have about the best reputations in Europe and judging from colleagues who have been licensed in just about every EASA country, that seems to hold true. After Brexit, my last company recommended people who held UK licenses to switch over to Irish, Danish, or Swedish because in their experience, those are the easiest countries to deal with in terms of CAA bureaucracy.

herewego

Alrighty Then, back to the original question.
What is the backstory on the need for retest? What was Herr Puehler doing or not doing, how did it go along for 12 years, and how did it finally come to light?

neverposts

"I'd be like sure I'll retake my private, just come observe me in the 777 sim on my next recurrent."

You went from ppl to the 777 in ten years? Must be nice...