Hearing about John and Martha King’s encounter with law enforcement and reading about similar horror stories, I adjusted my eye patch and was about to swing through the rigging, knife in teeth, in defense of pilots’ rights. Like Clark Kent, I would use my journalistic skills to battle the forces of evil — menacing cops stopping innocent pilots on taxiways and tossing them, cuffed and cowed, into the back of patrol cars while their airplanes are sniffed and slobbered over by dogs in search of … whatever.
Unusual Attitudes: Are We Really “The Bad Guys”?
Key Takeaways:
- The author, an FAA inspector, generally found law enforcement professional and helpful in aviation matters, contrasting with widely circulated "horror stories."
- While isolated incidents of police overreach occurred, they were often resolvable through inter-agency communication and advocacy, and some severe incidents were even instigated by overzealous FAA personnel rather than typical police conduct.
- Pilots are advised to cooperate during encounters with law enforcement and then vigorously advocate for their rights through appropriate channels, such as aviation groups and elected officials, if problems arise.
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