On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 13:58:35 GMT, "Gary Drescher"
wrote:

Can a commercial pilot be hired to rent a plane and fly a journalist on a
local flight for aerial photography, without meeting any operator
requirements? Or does that count as a sightseeing flight, invoking the part
135 drug-testing rules?

A commercial pilot being paid to carry passengers cannot provide the
plane (including renting one) without being an operator.