Any way to look up FAA enforcement actions?

[Sam D]

I believe there was a thread here a while ago concerning the commercial rating. One poster suggested not getting it because you would be held to a higher standard by the FAA if anything happened.

I recently heard about a situation about which I was hoping to get the details. Apparently, there were two pilots attending a flight school in San Carlos or Palo Alto. On a flight, Pilot A was in the left seat and was PIC according to both pilots. Pilot A was practicing to get her commercial certificate and about to take the checkride. Pilot B was in the right seat and had just gotten his commercial certificate. Apparently, Class B airspace was busted and the FAA is/did pursue Pilot B because he had the higher rating (despite the testimony of both pilots that Pilot A was PIC).

I realize this is hearsay posted on the internet -- so double hearsay. That's why I was hoping to somehow be able to get the details of the enforcement action. Seems to me that we only see the ones that get appealled.

 

[poadeleted20]

If the case was appealed to the NTSB within the last 20 years, you can find it by searching the NTSB Opinions and Orders web site. If it only went to an ALJ, you'd need to search those records using Lexis/Nexis or Westlaw, which are commercial subscription services. If it was not appealed, you won't be able to find it unless you work for the FAA.

That said, as a general rule, while possession of a higher level of certificate is one factor the FAA uses to decide who was PIC, there are many other factors, including who did what in the cockpit as the flight progressed, i.e., who was really acting as the final authority over the operation of the flight.