"Aviation Business Gazette" vanity articles? What is this?

RussR

En-Route
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
4,056
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Display Name

Display name:
Russ
Is this some type of spam website or scam or something?

A friend found this while searching for my name (cyber-stalking I'm sure).

http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A26/B21/

Click on any of the names, and you get an "article" about how the FAA "recognizes" that person with a prestigious pilot's license. No more mention is made about that person past the 2nd paragraph, where it's a generic press release-type article with a quote from the Secretary of Transportation and some other info about the ATP and such. Then at the end it shows the FAA database information on that person, like home address.

Click on any name and it's exactly the same. You can even manually navigate "up" a directory and go to:

http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A26/

Where you get more subdirectories.

Yes, I am one of the names on here, but I have no idea how many names are listed. I don't see any way to "search" the listings either (not sure why I'd want to though).

It reminds me of those novelty/vanity magazine covers - People Magazine's Man of the Year issue with your picture on it, that kind of thing.

What is the purpose of this website? Drive search results toward it? Is that really all it is?
 
Greetings,

I am concerned that this personal information, address and data is appearing on the web. It may be used by scammers to facilitate the construction of a personal profile along with other data obtainable from other sources. As a visitor to countries on work assignments where well known elements hostile to western influences may exist, this information might also be used facilitate terror activity.

It seems that the Aviation Business Gazette is mining personal data from the FAA pilot data base and exposing it in a manner never intended and certainly not one that I would have approved.

Does anybody know how to have this data removed or a process to identify how the web site operator might be identifed?

Regards
 
Removing your info from the Gazette's site won't help. The FAA's data is online and open to the public. Google your tail number sometime, too . . .
 
Hi Hank, hi Russ and everyone in this post.
I write from Italy. In these hours everyone here is talking about this site, Aviation Business Gazette, because some papers found on its pages the name of the copilot who killed 150 people in the crash of the Germanwing flight.

I've a doubt: really FAA's data are online and open to the public? How can Aviation Business Gazette know pilots' home addresses? I'm searching on the FAA database but I'm not able to access to this kind of data.

My real question is: are we talking about a leak, or something like that?
 
As any private pilot in the US can tell you, the FAA's airman records are public.

As soon as I got my pilot's certificate and appeared in the FAA's database, my mailbox started filling up with all sorts of aviation-related mailings. "Buy a plane!" "Rent a plane!" "Buy our insurance!" "Visit our airpark!" Etc.
 
Not only is it public, but you can download it. The instructions for processing by MS Access are included. The you can slice and dice all you want.
 
Umm, Russ... buddy.... I think you should know....

According to that site and link you provided, you're medical is out of date
MedExpDate: 082013
Ya might want to get that checked out :thumbsup:
 
Hi Hank, hi Russ and everyone in this post.
I write from Italy. In these hours everyone here is talking about this site, Aviation Business Gazette, because some papers found on its pages the name of the copilot who killed 150 people in the crash of the Germanwing flight.

I've a doubt: really FAA's data are online and open to the public? How can Aviation Business Gazette know pilots' home addresses? I'm searching on the FAA database but I'm not able to access to this kind of data.

My real question is: are we talking about a leak, or something like that?

Paisano,

No, the information is public here. È pazzo.

Rich
 
Umm, Russ... buddy.... I think you should know....

According to that site and link you provided, you're medical is out of date Ya might want to get that checked out :thumbsup:

So is my address, but I'm not about to help whatever this "ABG" is out! Must be an old data pull.
 
Hi Hank, hi Russ and everyone in this post.
I write from Italy. In these hours everyone here is talking about this site, Aviation Business Gazette, because some papers found on its pages the name of the copilot who killed 150 people in the crash of the Germanwing flight.

I've a doubt: really FAA's data are online and open to the public? How can Aviation Business Gazette know pilots' home addresses? I'm searching on the FAA database but I'm not able to access to this kind of data.

My real question is: are we talking about a leak, or something like that?
https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/ for a simple inquiry. Sometimes addresses show up, sometimes they don't.

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/releasable_airmen_download/ to download the whole thing.
 
My name's not on there. Man, that just hurts.
 
Unless you request your address not be published.
 
Back
Top