OK, I'll bite. The operations in the video were unsafe, and a violation of Part 103.Originally Posted by JBlack
So...where are we going from here? Are we expected to, en masse, contact the FAA and complain?
The pilot community is, to a large extent, composed of conservative law-and-order types. Yet there's a curious dichotomy in our make-up: We have a powerful reluctance to "drop the dime" to the FAA about rules violations by other pilots. The FAA enforcement folks are generally looked on with fear and loathing; in the words of friend of mine, "I wouldn't [urinate] on him if he was on fire."
Pithy expressions aside, it takes a very, VERY high bar before we call in the FAA. I've known guys who have removed a generator to avoid installing a transponder, who have removed the spinner and wheel pants of an RV-6-class homebuilt and declares it now qualifies as an LSA (he had developed diabetes and knew they wouldn't renew his medical), and those who crashed their airplanes and hid the wreckage before the FAA or NTSB found out about it.
I didn't report any of these people, despite knowing the actual dates of the transgressions and the ability to point at specific rule violations. Why should I call the FAA about a violation that I only know about FROM A YOUTUBE VIDEO, and where I can't give them any more information (names, places, dates) than is contained in the video itself?
I presume you informed the FAA about the video, yourself. What would be added by me giving them the same information?
And if you haven't...why not?
Ron Wanttaja
