FAA hotline complaint

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airborne840

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airborne840
I’m posting to see if anyone has had a situation similar to mine and want to seek advice on how to handle an unfortunate situation that I have found myself in.
Earlier in the year, a family member and I had a personal disagreement and because of this persons personal vengeance towards me, called my airline and the FAA in an attempt to get me fired from my job. The false complaint made to the FAA was that I am mentally unstable and also an alcoholic. Both are untrue.
Due to this hotline complaint, I received a certified letter from the FAA requesting a plethora of documents to be sent in within 60 days. I completed all required items and sent the paperwork and test results to the FAA. Here is my dilemma. My medical is up for renewal soon, and from calling the regional office, I found out that they haven’t even reviewed my file. I was advised by the regional office, that if my file is still under investigation, that my AME will be required to defer me. So due to a long backlog and a false complaint, I may not able to continue working as a full time pilot as a result. Does this all sound correct? Does anyone have any advice on how to speed up this process?
 
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How would your AME know? Is there anything on the med application that would require disclosure of this? Would you have known any different if you had not placed the call to FAA and received their “opinion”? Comply with the written rules (regs), answer the med express application truthfully, and follow the requirements in the certified letter. No more, no less.
 
To the OP: That all is correct. For such a complaint, You're going to need eventually the HIMS psychiatrist, and you'll bear the brunt of the cost as it's not insurance work. The only way to get that with the HIMS AME version of the FAA medical record, is through a HIMS AME.

Those of use who work in positions of trust just bear this burden. You're going to be down for a period....buckle in. And if you haven't seen the "crazy hot matrix", google it and spend 4:30 with it on youtube. That stuff is ALL TRUE.
 
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www.pilotsofamerica.com

False Accusations

I have a student with a first class medical who is in her solo cross country phase of training. She received a letter from FAA medical saying that they got a safety hotline tip claiming that she has debilitating back issues due to a car accident. We are pretty sure that the anonymous tip is...
www.pilotsofamerica.com www.pilotsofamerica.com
 
Wow. So anyone can call the FAA, make false claims about a pilot, and the pilot is done flying until he forks over thousands and waits months? The FAA should, in all things, be held to the same standards as the prosecution is in criminal cases: proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and it’s on them to prove it.
 
ateamer said:
Wow. So anyone can call the FAA, make false claims about a pilot, and the pilot is done flying until he forks over thousands and waits months? The FAA should, in all things, be held to the same standards as the prosecution is in criminal cases: proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and it’s on them to prove it.
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This is administrative law, and the FAA has a safety mandate.

Unfortunately people will use the FAA in this manner knowing a) the FAA must investigate and b) the person making the report can do it anonymously.
 
Do I understand that zero evidence is required before being pronounced "guilty until proven innocent?" Wouldn't the complainer have to point to an arrest record, recent DUI, other witnesses, a doctor's statement, or perhaps a bar tab? Something? Anything?

If such accusations were made against the pilot's of AF1 I'm guessing they would never be put through the wringer like this ... :nono:
 
Sadly, existing red flag laws have a very low bar and zero consequences for making false accusations
 
Did the FAA notify you that your current medical is not required? I'm wondering how an AME would know that he allegedly has to defer you.
 
jbarrass said:
This is not a law, it's a policy that they could change if they wanted to.
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The response is also whatever the relevant investigator wants it to be. I'm aware of a hotline complaint about an intentional incident, that was closed without any additional investigation. Investigation because the available adsb information was insufficient to prove the complained of behavior (no witnesses were interviewed).
 
airborne840 said:
I’m posting to see if anyone has had a situation similar to mine and want to seek advice on how to handle an unfortunate situation that I have found myself in.
Earlier in the year, a family member and I had a personal disagreement and because of this persons personal vengeance towards me, called my airline and the FAA in an attempt to get me fired from my job. The false complaint made to the FAA was that I am mentally unstable and also an alcoholic. Both are untrue.
Due to this hotline complaint, I received a certified letter from the FAA requesting a plethora of documents to be sent in within 60 days. I completed all required items and sent the paperwork and test results to the FAA. Here is my dilemma. My medical is up for renewal soon, and from calling the regional office, I found out that they haven’t even reviewed my file. I was advised by the regional office, that if my file is still under investigation, that my AME will be required to defer me. So due to a long backlog and a false complaint, I may not able to continue working as a full time pilot as a result. Does this all sound correct? Does anyone have any advice on how to speed up this process?
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Once the FAA finds that the complaint was false, you need to turn around and sue the ever loving dog**** out of the family member who did it, and get them for every dime you had to spend plus lost wages and other damages. If you win that law suit, you may have precedent to have them arrested and charged for filing a false official report.
 
Jon Wilder said:
Once the FAA finds that the complaint was false, you need to turn around and sue the ever loving dog**** out of the family member who did it, and get them for every dime you had to spend plus lost wages and other damages. If you win that law suit, you may have precedent to have them arrested and charged for filing a false official report.
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Doesn't help the anonymous/vindictive incidences of this. I have no idea what the # of occurrences are that meet this profile, but it's infuriating and disturbing that someone can upend a career with zero evidence, anonymously and put the defendant in that position. :mad3:
 
UTLonghorn_1979 said:
Doesn't help the anonymous/vindictive incidences of this. I have no idea what the # of occurrences are that meet this profile, but it's infuriating and disturbing that someone can upend a career with zero evidence, anonymously and put the defendant in that position. :mad3:
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Completely agree. Yes it has to be investigated, but from my reading of the law there’s no requirement to send the accused through the HIMS process to disprove the accusation.
 
mryan75 said:
Completely agree. Yes it has to be investigated, but from my reading of the law there’s no requirement to send the accused through the HIMS process to disprove the accusation.
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One would hope that the FAA wouldn’t go Defcon 1, my experience tells me otherwise.
 
UTLonghorn_1979 said:
Doesn't help the anonymous/vindictive incidences of this. I have no idea what the # of occurrences are that meet this profile, but it's infuriating and disturbing that someone can upend a career with zero evidence, anonymously and put the defendant in that position. :mad3:
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Completely agree.
 
jbarrass said:
This is not a law, it's a policy that they could change if they wanted to.
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THIS is a few watts short of a bright bulb……
(See: Doc Holliday 5:19 PM who has the cite.)

They don’t all get mandated to HIMS but I do employ HIMS Consultants as this tends to be credible, authoritative, and every week down is about 5 K in lost wages…. And the idea is get a false accusation dismissed rapidly and authoritatively.

We’ll never be able to undo the whistleblower laws.
 
Doc Holliday said:
It’s not?

49 USC subtitle VII, Part A, sub part iv, chapter 461, 46101.
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They only have to investigate if there's a reasonable ground to believe there's been a violation. Satisfying an investigator that the report is false should be sufficient. Unfortunately, many false reports have enough truth to be believable.
 
And thus the immediate reply with the sledgehammer….(as in, do not bring a knife to a gunfight)
 
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Doc Holliday said:
It’s not?

49 USC subtitle VII, Part A, sub part iv, chapter 461, 46101.
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49 USC subtitle VII, Part A, sub part iv, chapter 461, 46101 is an authority. Not a mandate to investigate every call.

Notice the use of "May". The only relevant "Shall" is ....Administration shall investigate the complaint if a reasonable ground appears ..... " and then when a reasonable ground exists.

There is no requirement to chase ghosts.
 
jbarrass said:
49 USC subtitle VII, Part A, sub part iv, chapter 461, 46101 is an authority. Not a mandate to investigate every call.

Notice the use of "May". The only relevant "Shall" is ....Administration shall investigate the complaint if a reasonable ground appears ..... " and then when a reasonable ground exists.

There is no requirement to chase ghosts.
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The FAA's mandate is safety. This is why every complaint is investigated.

All it would take is for one complaint to be ****canned and a couple a days later a giant smoking hole with a few hundred dead as a result for the public to demand "Why didn't you do something!"

And 49 USC is a LAW, one which you claimed didn't exist.
 
Lindberg said:
They only have to investigate if there's a reasonable ground to believe there's been a violation. Satisfying an investigator that the report is false should be sufficient. Unfortunately, many false reports have enough truth to be believable.
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Once investigated if no evidence is found, that's exactly what happens. Unfortunately there are whackos that like to use a government entity to make malicious reports in order to stir up crap. And those entities have to sort out which are legit and which are malicious. The only way to sort it out is to investigate.
 
I would NOT talk to your union or union attorney about it. Get a real lawyer.

A. In HIMS, denial is a primary diagnostic criteria…

2. HIMS was created by the largest pilot union in existence.

iii. Airlines brag about a 10:1 return on investment sending people through the HIMS grinder.

While not covered by insurance, most airlines are happy to pay for the evaluation… Don’t fall for this trap, get a REAL evaluation, with a real lawyer involved. Start documenting EVERYTHING.
 
Doc Holliday said:
Once investigated if no evidence is found, that's exactly what happens. Unfortunately there are whackos that like to use a government entity to make malicious reports in order to stir up crap. And those entities have to sort out which are legit and which are malicious. The only way to sort it out is to investigate.
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Like with Bob Hoover?
 
Unfortunately, Bob Hoover is not relevant in this context. Unfortunately, he surrendered his certificate, and the FAA refused to return it.

He went through his ordeal to get requalified for a license.

As a result of the FAA position in that case, if any officer, FAA or other, asks to see your license, you show it to them, they do not have the right to hold it in their hand or even touch it. Make a stupid rule for a specific case, pay the price for future cases. There may be a newer chief counsels letter replacing that opinion, of course.

Members of our flying club made copies of that ruling, and carried them in our wallets for years, and we had a copy in the plane document case.

Flying out of KCGS, College Park MD puts us close to FAA headquarters, and visits by officials are common.
 
geezer said:
Unfortunately, Bob Hoover is not relevant in this context. Unfortunately, he surrendered his certificate, and the FAA refused to return it.

He went through his ordeal to get requalified for a license.

As a result of the FAA position in that case, if any officer, FAA or other, asks to see your license, you show it to them, they do not have the right to hold it in their hand or even touch it. Make a stupid rule for a specific case, pay the price for future cases. There may be a newer chief counsels letter replacing that opinion, of course.

Members of our flying club made copies of that ruling, and carried them in our wallets for years, and we had a copy in the plane document case.

Flying out of KCGS, College Park MD puts us close to FAA headquarters, and visits by officials are common.
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I’m referring to the “reports” that said he wasn’t cognitively or physically up to flying just from one person’s opinion/observation that lead to the whole ordeal.

The point is the allegation can lead to years of FAA BS to get your medical back.
 
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