Legal Matters

Noise restrictions can be a fact of life at urban and suburban airports. Keep the peace by keeping quiet

Maybe a gusty crosswind forced you off the runway. Perhaps a mechanical glitch led you to lose control at precisely the wrong moment. Or, gasp, a momentary lapse of judgment might have led your airplane in the wrong direction.

Now your pride and joy is a little worse for wear. The landing gear is collapsed and the prop is bent. Or maybe a wing ripped off and a passenger is injured. What now?

Just how you handle the first moments after an accident may have a profound bearing on the rest of your flying career. There are things you must do, things you should do and things you should avoid.

The governments definition of what constitutes an accident covers a broad range from minor di…

The checks in the mail.

Your airplane will be ready Tuesday.

Im from the FAA and Im here to help you!

Three of the Great Lies – but with the last, you actually have some control over what happens. If your encounter with the FAA involves a ramp check, there are several things you can do to protect yourself, including knowing what an inspector may and may not do, that may help it it go easier.

Getting ramp checked is one of the great fears of all pilots. Even the average, law-abiding pilot has a gut-level dread that no matter how righteous his intentions, the FAA inspector will find something wrong with either the pilot or the plane. Many fear that they will either get tem…