CA Man Gets Prison for Piloting Private Jets without a Type Rating

[Ted]

Astonishing is what I would call it. You can't fly a Cessna 150 in my flying club without showing all your certificates and getting a checkout.

Right, but as you move up the ranks and know the right people, it can get increasingly easy to just get thrown the keys to some level of higher performance aircraft to fly, and that is normal and not necessarily a bad thing for the right level of experience. Legally there's nothing stopping me from flying any piston or turboprop that doesn't require a type rating (exception being the MU-2 due to the SFAR). I've got no time in a Duke, but I'd be perfectly comfortable flying one. Same goes for a P-Navajo, Mojave, etc. Turboprops, I'd hop back in a Cheyenne and fly one of those solo provided I was only going to airports with longer runways. I'd be less inclined to hop in a Commander 690 and fly one of those solo, might do a King Air.

Sometimes you can throw yourself the keys, too, given the right situation. Falcon 10s and Citation IIs are relatively cheap jets to buy. A few years back there was a King Air 100 that crashed - the owner/PIC never got past his student pilot cert, but had the money to buy this KA100. Got some level of training and was otherwise self-taught. Filed IFR regularly. Finally crashed and killed himself and his passenger during a snow storm.

It's also not entirely clear who the owner of these planes was from the article. If he owned the planes and/or the company, then it becomes a lot harder for the employees to say or do anything about it. Yeah, sure, they could report the boss, and then they lose their job and get a reputation as a whistle blower. It's a really rotten situation to be in as an employee. I have seen companies where the boss will fly a mission single pilot (even when legally it needs to be 2-pilot due to the ops specs on 135, albeit a single pilot aircraft) to save paying the day rate for an SIC, and especially save the money on day rate for a PIC.

Not saying it's a good thing - it isn't for many reasons - but it does happen.

 

[denverpilot]

Right, but as you move up the ranks and know the right people, it can get increasingly easy to just get thrown the keys to some level of higher performance aircraft to fly, and that is normal and not necessarily a bad thing for the right level of experience.

Most of them don't have keys to operate them and the doors aren't always locked. Shhhh. Don't tell TSA. LOL.

 

[Ted]

Most of them don't have keys to operate them and the doors aren't always locked. Shhhh. Don't tell TSA. LOL.

I meant without resorting to theft.

 

[denverpilot]

I meant without resorting to theft.

I was just thinking we should all call 1-866-GA-SECURE and let them know all sorts of airplanes on the ramp don't need keys to start them.

See something, say something, you know? LOL!

 

[Kritchlow]

It is a Citation anybody can fly one without any training, it is easier than a C-172. Trust me I am typed in one and stayed in a Holiday Inn last night.

Okay. I'm typed in nearly every Citation there is, and just like any other jet they are easy to fly.... But hard to fly correctly.
I believe I said the same thing earlier??

 

[Kritchlow]

Right, but as you move up the ranks and know the right people, it can get increasingly easy to just get thrown the keys to some level of higher performance aircraft to fly, and that is normal and not necessarily a bad thing for the right level of experience. Legally there's nothing stopping me from flying any piston or turboprop that doesn't require a type rating (exception being the MU-2 due to the SFAR). I've got no time in a Duke, but I'd be perfectly comfortable flying one. Same goes for a P-Navajo, Mojave, etc. Turboprops, I'd hop back in a Cheyenne and fly one of those solo provided I was only going to airports with longer runways. I'd be less inclined to hop in a Commander 690 and fly one of those solo, might do a King Air.

Sometimes you can throw yourself the keys, too, given the right situation. Falcon 10s and Citation IIs are relatively cheap jets to buy. A few years back there was a King Air 100 that crashed - the owner/PIC never got past his student pilot cert, but had the money to buy this KA100. Got some level of training and was otherwise self-taught. Filed IFR regularly. Finally crashed and killed himself and his passenger during a snow storm.

It's also not entirely clear who the owner of these planes was from the article. If he owned the planes and/or the company, then it becomes a lot harder for the employees to say or do anything about it. Yeah, sure, they could report the boss, and then they lose their job and get a reputation as a whistle blower. It's a really rotten situation to be in as an employee. I have seen companies where the boss will fly a mission single pilot (even when legally it needs to be 2-pilot due to the ops specs on 135, albeit a single pilot aircraft) to save paying the day rate for an SIC, and especially save the money on day rate for a PIC.

Not saying it's a good thing - it isn't for many reasons - but it does happen.

I disagree with most of your viewpoints.

 

[denverpilot]

Okay. I'm typed in nearly every Citation there is, and just like any other jet they are easy to fly.... But hard to fly correctly.
I believe I said the same thing earlier??

Think the dude going to jail cares much about "correctness"? We might. As long as he got there without ripping the wings off, I doubt he did.

 

[Kritchlow]

Think the dude going to jail cares much about "correctness"? We might. As long as he got there without ripping the wings off, I doubt he did.

Agreed

 

[Ted]

I disagree with most of your viewpoints.

I respect that, but it probably means that we've known and worked with different people and in different regions with different cultures.