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Saw this in today's _New York Times_.
July 20, 2005
U.S. Says 46
Pilots Lied to Obtain Their Licenses
By CAROLYN MARSHALL
SAN FRANCISCO,
July 19 - Prosecutors in Northern California have
charged 46 pilots with
lying to federal authorities to obtain airplane
licenses, in most cases not
disclosing debilitating illnesses that
should have kept them
grounded.
The pilots, who were indicted this week by grand juries in the
eastern
and northern federal districts of California, were identified
during
an 18-month criminal air traffic safety investigation by
the
Department of Transportation and the Social Security
Administration
that looked into licensed pilots who were also receiving
disability
benefits and payments from the government.
The
investigation, initiated in July 2003, included a review of more
than 40,000
pilot licenses issued in Northern California to determine
whether there had
been any misuse or abuse of Social Security numbers.
The authorities reviewed
licenses held by both commercial and private
pilots and found that some
license applicants claimed to be medically
fit to fly an airplane yet were
simultaneously receiving disability
benefits.
"The fraud and
falsification allegedly committed by these individuals
is extremely serious
and adversely affects the public interest in air
safety," said Nicholas
Sabatini, an associate administrator with the
Federal Aviation
Administration.
Charles H. Lee Jr., an assistant inspector general for
investigations
at the Department of Transportation, said the reviewers first
focused
their investigation on 48 pilots, most of whom were
receiving
disability payments for illnesses like paranoid schizophrenia,
bipolar
disorder and disabling heart conditions.
One case, Mr. Lee
said, even involved someone who exhibited severe
suicidal
tendencies.
"To get their certificates, these people had to lie or
falsify
paperwork," Mr. Lee said. "The F.A.A. has rules and
regulations
regarding medical conditions and deemed that all 48 had
medical
disabilities that would have disqualified them from holding
pilot
certificates."
Two cases were dropped, Mr. Lee said, one because
the pilot died. He
declined to comment about whether similar investigations
were under
way in other states.
Of the 46 pilots that Mr. Lee said
were charged, 7 held commercial
pilot certificates that would have allowed
them to fly as well as
carry cargo; another 4 pilots held air transportation
pilot
certificates which would let them transport passengers.
Of the
remaining indicted pilots, 28 had private pilot licenses, and 7
had student
licenses.
A charge of lying to the federal authorities carries a penalty
of up
to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A charge of
falsifying
records carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a
$100,000
fine.
According to court documents, the pilots who were
indicted failed to
provide accurate medical history forms, as required by the
F.A.A., in
some cases lying about a previous illness or claiming that there
had
been no previous medical diagnosis or treatment for conditions
that
the pilots knew they had.
Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the
F.A.A., said that pilots could
obtain a license only after they submit oral
and written tests and
current medical certificates. Those certificates can be
issued only by
an aviation medical examiner registered with the agency.
Certain
medical conditions would disqualify an applicant from receiving
a
license.
"The reason we have disqualifying conditions is to ensure
that pilots
are not a danger to others, in the air or on the ground," Ms.
Brown
said.
Ms. Brown said that the pilots were charged with either
making false
statements to a federal official or delivering to a federal
official a
false written record. She added that 14 of the pilots held
active
pilot licenses, which were immediately revoked.
The remaining
pilots had licenses that had either lapsed or were
missing current
information, which would not prevent them from flying
a private
plane.
"It's similar to when people go out and drive cars without a
license,
or drive cars when intoxicated," Ms. Brown said. "It's illegal
but
they do it."
At least one of the indicted pilots appeared in
Federal District Court
in Sacramento on Tuesday. The remaining pilots will be
arraigned
individually in the coming weeks.
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