On Mar 7, 8:39 pm, Jim wrote:

This happened at my home airport The guy only had 1 supervised solo

He was able to get the plane because he hid the girl and the FBO thought
he was waiting for the Instructor to show up for a lesson. Which he
did show up for a lesson but for another student he was already airborne

It has been customary for the student to get the keys and preflight the
plane before the Instructor shows up to save time

Again, I point my finger at the FBOs practices. Customary? Ok. Good
idea? No.

"Save Time" sometimes equals "Costs Lives."

Aviation is an inherently dangerous undertaking. Time spent doing it
right will save lives. This means EVERYONE. The FBO owner, the FBO
dispatcher, the CFI, the renter, the lineman, the
mechanic...everyone.

In my opinion the FBO should NEVER dispatch keys to anyone other than
the PIC. If the student is flying dual with his CFI or flying solo,
then the Student may be given the keys but only when a CFI is
confirmed to be present and supervising.