National Transportation Safety Board

As certificated airmen, we hold these facts and conclusions that follow to be self-evident: An airman’s certificate is a property or liberty interest that cannot be suspended or revoked without affording the airman due process of law including notice and an opportunity for a hearing. See, e.g., White v. Franklin, 637 F.Supp. 601, 610-611 (N.D. Miss. 1986) (“In the present case, plaintiff’s license qualifies as a protectable property interest. ***In the present case, the defendants’ actions totally foreclosed the plaintiff’s opportunity to pursue his career as a flight examiner…As such, the plaintiff possessed a liberty interest requiring a Fifth Amendment due process hearing prior to deprivation.”), Tamura v. Federal Aviation

You will hear these conversations in hushed tones outside courtrooms or over lunch during a break, “Why did the judge make that ruling?”  “How can the FAA call expert witnesses that were undisclosed?”  It is no secret among legal practitioners who appear before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or Board) that litigation before the…

The Federal Aviation Administration withdrew its appeal from an Initial Decision of Judge Stephen R. Woody of the National Transportation Safety Board exonerating an airman from charges that he had put into service counterfeit aircraft parts.

The author's purpose in writing this article is to refine and expand our thoughts about the meaning of Section 2(b) of the Pilot's Bill of Rights, Pub. L. 112-153, August 3, 2012, 126 Stat. 1159 (hereinafter the "PBR").

Historically, if a pilot is accused of violating the Federal Aviation regulations, he receives a trial or hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. The judge considers the evidence and then renders a decision based upon the evidence. There is, however, a disturbing new trend at the National Transportation Safety Board. This trend is to have pilots lose their cases without ever having a hearing. This article will discuss that phenomenon.

A jet pilot who made a number of low level, high-speed passes over the Santa Monica Pier had his license revoked. The flight in question took place on November 6, 2008, when the pilot, as part of a two-ship formation flight, departed Van Nuys Airport (VNY)