Martha Lunken has privileges revoked

Rumor is Lunken lost her DPE designation after her cub got away from her during hand propping on 2 different occasions crashing into the the same aircraft both times.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
I have seen what the FAA can do and it’s appalling. You have your head in the sand if you don’t think the agency can railroad people. I’ve seen it happen.
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Well tell us more.

Or is this yet another one of your “I could, but I don’t want to talk about it” episodes?
 
Clip4 said:
Rumor is Lunken lost her DPE designation after her cub got away from her during hand propping on 2 different occasions crashing into the the same aircraft both times.
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LOL I’m trying to imagine how pizzed the other aircraft owner would have been the second time... or whether they felt shame knowing they should have asked for a different tie-down spot.
 
My prior interest in this thread was mostly on the due process side of things. But I read the original article, and honestly, I do have to wonder if there is an underlying medical issue here.

She is getting up there in years. Two accidents due to poor judgement. And now did something that she obviously would know was a violation “on a whim”.

She clearly loves flying and that is her life. But all pilots should know that there will come a time when we have to stop for medical reasons if we live long enough.

If she can retest for all her certificates, clearly she is not impaired. But if there is an impairment I hope she will be able to make peace with that and enjoy her profound connection to flying. And hope the rest of us will be able to respect and enjoy her significant contributions to flying and Flying over the years.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Who thinks she just tells the FAA to **** off and keeps flying without her certificate being valid?
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Maybe if she leaves her home airport and starts flying off of someone's grass strip and keeps her mouth shut about it but I kind of expect, based on her track record, that she can't do that.

She'll be under a microscope from the feds for quite a while and someone is going to mention "Saw Martha out flying yesterday" to the wrong person and there will be a ramp check. Won't take many times for that to happen and the FAA will become really unpleasant to the tune of fines and who knows what else.
 
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Doc Holliday said:
Well tell us more.

Or is this yet another one of your “I could, but I don’t want to talk about it” episodes?
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No. It’s the same one. And it’s still ongoing. Honestly the creativity of the office in question is amazing. I wish I could share but I can not.

It just burns my ass when you get on here and act smug and treat others in a condescending manner when the type of administrative abuse they warn about, while rare, does actually happen.

It also embarrasses me to be honest. I used to talk down to people just like you do for the same reasons. I don’t like being wrong on such a base level. Crow does not taste good.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
No. It’s the same one. And it’s still ongoing. Honestly the creativity of the office in question is amazing. I wish I could share but I can not.

It just burns my ass when you get on here and act smug and treat others in a condescending manner when the type of administrative abuse they warn about, while rare, does actually happen.

It also embarrasses me to be honest. I used to talk down to people just like you do for the same reasons. I don’t like being wrong on such a base level. Crow does not taste good.
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Are you two still at it? Holy crap.
 
Clip4 said:
Rumor is Lunken lost her DPE designation after her cub got away from her during hand propping on 2 different occasions crashing into the the same aircraft both times.
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In an article linked earlier in this thread, she had a taxi accident, then the tailwheel tiedown somehow failed while propping (with the throttle opened more than she liked because of problems starting - one would think that would be something to fix...) and, yes, hit the same aircraft.
 
Deelee said:
Guys.....

Sus-pen-sion bridge!!

Can't we all just laugh at that and move on?
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It would be funny if she’d received a suspension and not a revocation. I’ve never heard of a revocation bridge.

Sorry - swing and a miss.
 
I have a friend that got caught lying on a medical about a past conviction involving narcotics. He was grounded for a time and had to earn back all his certificates up to CFI. Same punishment as Martha. Lying on a medical gets you the same reward. Something to think about.
 
By chance, is her middle name "Fokker?"
 
Deelee said:
Guys.....

Sus-pen-sion bridge!!

Can't we all just laugh at that and move on?
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Half Fast said:
It would be funny if she’d received a suspension and not a revocation. I’ve never heard of a revocation bridge.

Sorry - swing and a miss.
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It also doesn't look like a suspension bridge in the photo.

Since no one knows what a revocation bridge looks like, it COULD be one of those.
 
Posted on Flying Magazine's FB account in the last hour
"Martha Lunken, longttime FLYING columnist, was subject to an FAA certificate action following an incident in 2020. Lunken has been upfront with the FAA and FLYING throughout the process as we’ve waited for a final outcome to be determined. She acknowledges the mistake in judgment she made, and she’ll be working towards the return of her flying status in the future. While she’ll be on hiatus as a contributor during that process, she will also share her story with FLYING readers in an upcoming issue, as she feels there are valuable lessons to share about ADM, safety, and impulsive decisions."
 
A short excerpt from Martha's book might help people understand her "unusual attitudes" a bit:

Among the oldest and most sacred rules of the air is the one about staying in the middle of it. As you would expect, I obey these commandments as religiously as the ones Moses came up with, and avoid the edges, especially the upper one that borders interstellar space. But if it’s a day when I haven’t broken a rule and some attractive nuisance beckons, like a perfect bridge or Walt Davis driving his tractor when I’m flying the T-6, I hear Clarence Wilson’s voice echoing out of the past: “If you have to do it, then do it once and get the hell out of there—nobody gets a number or even an accurate description on one pass.” Now Clarence was chief of the Cincinnati FAA office for many years, back in the days when... and after my 28-year stint investigating low-flying complaints, I can tell you he was right. When alphabet airspace was new and the amoeba-like “Bs” (the handiwork of ground-pounding bureaucrats) appeared on VFR charts, the Flight Standards District Offices were flooded with unintentional altitude violations.

Some approach controls were more draconian than others about turning in violators to Flight Standards—Cleveland being one of the worst—and getting caught usually meant a six-month suspension. Creative contour flying actually saved a person who, mesmerized by the sight of the Cleveland lakefront, realized with horror she was at 2,200 feet where the Class B floor was at 1,900. I heard that this person flipped the transponder off and on several times to indicate an equipment problem and then, back on the 1200 squawk, flew law-abidingly around the edge of the airspace to a small airport and landed... well, almost. It was a good bet that Cleveland had tagged and tracked the target, then called the FBO where she landed to weasel out the airplane’s N-number. So, on close final, this scofflaw turned off the squawk machine and “contour flew” southwest at a couple hundred feet all the way to Columbus, where it was safe to turn the box back on, climb to a civilized altitude and proceed home, safe in the arms of ATC. Please understand I relate this story (which I overheard from somebody) only rhetorically as a sort of philosophical exploration of the potential effects of overregulation. The art of contour flying is a heinous, abhorrent, sinful practice (I went to confession) that too often puts amateur and hotshot airpersons in the trees or the dirt or—worse—underneath.​
Lunken, Martha. Unusual Attitudes: Obsessions and confessions of a lady pilot . Sporty's Pilot Shop. Kindle Edition.
 
RyanShort1 said:
A person can have and express an opinion without having been personally involved, based on objective moral arguments.
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What is an "objective moral argument"? I'd argue that morals are by their nature entirely subjective.
 
baboss said:
Posted on Flying Magazine's FB account in the last hour
"Martha Lunken, longttime FLYING columnist, was subject to an FAA certificate action following an incident in 2020. Lunken has been upfront with the FAA and FLYING throughout the process as we’ve waited for a final outcome to be determined. She acknowledges the mistake in judgment she made, and she’ll be working towards the return of her flying status in the future. While she’ll be on hiatus as a contributor during that process, she will also share her story with FLYING readers in an upcoming issue, as she feels there are valuable lessons to share about ADM, safety, and impulsive decisions."
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I was wondering if FLYING was going to let her go or not.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Umm it’s about having a conversation. Nothing says we have to agree at the end for it to be worthwhile. If my contribution bothers you put me on your ignore list.
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Naw. Sometimes you say interesting stuff. This conversation Just seems a little pointless as it was not going anywhere but so long as you’re having fun.
 
PeterNSteinmetz said:
My prior interest in this thread was mostly on the due process side of things. But I read the original article, and honestly, I do have to wonder if there is an underlying medical issue here.

She is getting up there in years. Two accidents due to poor judgement. And now did something that she obviously would know was a violation “on a whim”.

She clearly loves flying and that is her life. But all pilots should know that there will come a time when we have to stop for medical reasons if we live long enough.

If she can retest for all her certificates, clearly she is not impaired. But if there is an impairment I hope she will be able to make peace with that and enjoy her profound connection to flying. And hope the rest of us will be able to respect and enjoy her significant contributions to flying and Flying over the years.
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Or maybe something she always wanted to do and figured here flying days were numbered.
 
denverpilot said:
Best thing that could happen in the dying magazine biz... controversial author.
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A marketing department stunt perhaps? Ok Martha, you go do something naughty. Then you'll get like suspended or revoked or sumpin. Then we'll get the story out there. All the Forums including that naughty ol' POA. Then we'll like to have to like let you go for awhile but tell everyone you'll be back soon with all the juicy details first hand.
 
luvflyin said:
A marketing department stunt perhaps? Ok Martha, you go do something naughty. Then you'll get like suspended or revoked or sumpin. Then we'll get the story out there. All the Forums including that naughty ol' POA. Then we'll like to have to like let you go for awhile but tell everyone you'll be back soon with all the juicy details first hand.
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Fairly doubtful. Most marketing departments are virtue signaling and planning their 5K awareness run, about things we all already knew about. LOL.

I’m not even sure who a magazine marketing department even markets to anymore, really. People who like nice photos like Jack’s here, I suppose.

There aren’t many great writers out there. Even less good stories to tell.

“There I was flying my stabilized approach in a Slowhawk when the ADS-B lit up with traffic ten miles away...”

Yawn. LOL.

Okay maybe that’s a bit much, but the adventure days of aviation were long over with by the time I started flying. You gotta just enjoy it for flying itself at this point and the accomplishment of not turning yourself into a statistic.

Flying will still present plenty of challenges.

Nobody’s running off the become part of the barnstorming circuit. LOL.

I just read about Jerry Mock for the first time. Pretty impressive. Humble too. Around the world in a 180. Very cool. Funny that when she told her husband she was bored he quipped that maybe she should just go get in her little airplane and fly around the world — so she did.

Fun story.
 
I noticed all the other social media sites are now full of “Oh I hope she gets back to flying!” posts tonight. Heh.

No discussion of back story, just the standard high quality “crowdsourcing” based upon the standard social media emotional reactions and attention span of a gnat.

Hilarious. As much as we all disagree at times here and go off on tangents, the longer discussion form tends to suss out interesting tidbits of info to think about.

I’m afraid to type her name into the worst place of all... Twitter. LOL
 
denverpilot said:
Fairly doubtful. Most marketing departments are virtue signaling and planning their 5K awareness run, about things we all already knew about. LOL.

I’m not even sure who a magazine marketing department even markets to anymore, really. People who like nice photos like Jack’s here, I suppose.

There aren’t many great writers out there. Even less good stories to tell.

“There I was flying my stabilized approach in a Slowhawk when the ADS-B lit up with traffic ten miles away...”

Yawn. LOL.

Okay maybe that’s a bit much, but the adventure days of aviation were long over with by the time I started flying. You gotta just enjoy it for flying itself at this point and the accomplishment of not turning yourself into a statistic.

Flying will still present plenty of challenges.

Nobody’s running off the become part of the barnstorming circuit. LOL.

I just read about Jerry Mock for the first time. Pretty impressive. Humble too. Around the world in a 180. Very cool. Funny that when she told her husband she was bored he quipped that maybe she should just go get in her little airplane and fly around the world — so she did.

Fun story.
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Darn. I thought I was on to something.:sigh:
 
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