When the Rules Change, You Might Pay for Other Pilots’ Mistakes

Foolish decisions to disregard aviation regulations can definitely introduce a negative trickle-down effect.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, June 03, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

[Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Aviation operates on a foundation of strict Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) and internal flight school policies, which are often disregarded by pilots despite their critical importance for safety and operational efficiency.
Non-compliance with these rules, ranging from skipping pre-flight checks to violating school agreements (e.g., no-shows, late returns), creates safety risks, disrupts operations, and can lead to financial penalties or stricter policies for all students and renters.
The tragic 2012 Renton accident, where an intoxicated CFI took an unauthorized flight resulting in fatalities, starkly demonstrates how severe rule violations and a breach of trust can have catastrophic consequences and trigger widespread industry review of safety procedures and access protocols.

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One of the first things you learn as a pilot in training is that aviation is built on rules and regulations. Learners are often admonished with hearing the “Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are written in blood,” meaning take them seriously, because some were written after an event that resulted in injury or death.

After the accident the investigating authorities and the FAA or its predecessor, the Civil Aeronautics Authority, determined it could have been prevented if only the pilot hadn’t done this or that, or had taken certain steps that would have resulted in a different outcome. Thus, the FARs were born.