Sport Pilot Talk

What happens if a sport pilot is caught flying a non compliant aircraft ? Or If he built a compliant aircraft and then modified it and it was no longer eligible to be flown by an sport licensed pilot ? Any difference ? Just curious ...

Baring anything criminal, a formal loss of privileges would be expected. The FAA, to my knowledge has no true enforcement powers, even though they do have Criminal Investigators, who are sworn, gun carrying Special Agents. And like I stated, they would need something more.

So, if your are just caught flying out of class, so to speak, not much. Do it again or have a criminal component attached and you’ll have more to worry about than flying.

You want to fly larger advanced aircraft, get a PPL. If you can’t pass an FAA medical, be happy being a SP and hope for the changes to SP rules.

My guess is that if you could make the case the violation was inadvertent, you might get away with a warning and/or mandatory training. If not, I would not be surprised if an enforcement action was initiated.

That said, I’d be worried about insurance coverage being denied in the event of a claim.

Most Conservative Action? To paraphrase Nike, “Just DON’T Do It!”

FastEddieB wrote: ...
That said, I’d be worried about insurance coverage being denied in the event of a claim.

Most Conservative Action? To paraphrase Nike, “Just DON’T Do It!”

This.

My guess is that if you were to be caught by the FAA , it would be in the context of some kind of event where various insurance claims would most likely be involved as well and it would end up being a double whammy at this point - no insurance money and some kind of legal action on top of it

A majority of illegal pilot actions are found during ramp checks at aviation events (easy picking for inspections), incidents or accidents (mandatory attention), or the pilot being so incompetent in actions or communications that attracts the attention of the FAA and/or the aviation community (loose lips and stupidity.)

Regardless, you don’t want to be doing anything illegal.
There are also quite a few that ended up in a big hole in the ground.

Another thing to worry about is that fact that all pilots make mistakes and stuff happens.

So if you busted airspace, violated a TFR, were part of a runway incursion or airborne near-miss (even if it wasn’t your fault), or if you simply had a disagreement with a grumpy air traffic controller, you could get seriously busted for something that may not cause much grief to a pilot who is otherwise flying in compliance.

Also, a pilot who is flying illegally would not have protection under the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) which in most cases will provide immunity to pilots who make honest unintended mistakes and anonymously self-report. I have never hesitated to use ASRS to protect my pilot’s license whenever I might have done something wrong. Fortunately, my errors were not significant enough for any FAA followup that required an ASRS defense.

See: https://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/

[quote="designrs"]Another thing to worry about is that fact that all pilots make mistakes and stuff happens.

So if you busted airspace, violated a TFR, were part of a runway incursion or airborne near-miss (even if it wasn’t your fault), or if you simply had a disagreement with a grumpy air traffic controller, you could get seriously busted for something that may not cause much grief to a pilot who is otherwise flying in compliance.

So if you bust an airspace, TFR or have a runway incursion they will come check your aircraft to make sure its LSA compliant ? Just curious

Jfly67 wrote:So if you bust an airspace, TFR or have a runway incursion they will come check your aircraft to make sure its LSA compliant ? Just curious

One of the first things the Kinder and Gentler FAA does in such an incident is offer the pilot remedial training with an authorized FAA Safety volunteer, in lieu of enforcement action. I know, because I'm one of those volunteers, and I conduct such remedial training. And one of the things I have to do is review with the offending pilot his or her pilot certification and aircraft registration. And, should I happen in the process to uncover such illegal actions as you inquired about, I am required to terminate the remedial instruction immediately. (I am not a Cop of the Air, but the next person you hear from will be!)

... and Dr. Paul doesn’t miss much when doing reviews & inspections!

The other thing to consider is that someone who disregards the regulations or law for one thing, also tends to disregard authority for other things.

Just watch any show like COPS; it usually goes like this:
A) Broken Taillight
B) Expired Registration
C) No Insurance
D) Outstanding Warrant for Arrest (domestic offense and/or DWI)
E) Illegal Drugs in Car
F) Resisting Arrest
G) Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer

Now, I’m not “Snow White” implying that a slight regulation violation is going to turn someone into a hardened criminal, but when someone REALLY steps over legal regulations in a MAJOR WAY, the anti-authority mindset tends to lead to multiple problems, until it becomes overwhelmingly obvious.
Generally, it will catch up with the offender.

Example:
A) Pilot Regularly Flies Aircraft Over the LSA Legal Gross Weight Limit (The Aircraft is certified for a higher gross weight in Europe)
B) Installs Major Equipment without a LOA - Neglects to Update Weight & Balance
C) Aircraft Out of Annual - Critical Maintence Item Missed
D) Bi-Annual Flight Review Past Due - Pilot is not current on new regulations
E) Pilot Flies At Night While only Qualified for Sport Pilot Privileges

Then something bad happens and the whole chain of events is revealed.

If a pilot has money, continues education, and puts a legally qualified pilot in the right seat. basically ANYTHING can be done in aviation!