"William W. Plummer" wrote:

Has any pilot ever been prosecuted (by the FAA, NTSB, ...) for declaring an
emergency when, in some experts opinion, one did not exist? [Reference:
decending through icing layer while short on fuel]

Haven't had to declare an emergency yet, but have requested priority landing
clearance a couple of times.

First was while doing instrument training at KJAX in the late-70's. This was
during the days of the switchover from 80 octane to 100LL, and this particular
plane apparently got a bad case of lead indigestion (you've never seen an IFR
hood come off so quickly...). They bumped us to #1 for landing, and we landed
uneventfully (heh, they even rolled "the equipment" for us).

Second incident was back in the early '90's at KVNY - engine went severe rough
just after takeoff. Let the tower know about the problem, struggled up to
pattern altitude at reduced RPM, and managed to land normally on this one as
well.

Neither incident triggered any kind of follow-up or contact from the
powers-that-be, though my instincts would be to declare an emergency if in
doubt, and do whatever it takes to get the airplane safely back on terra
firma. The paperwork can be dealt with later.

BTW, the VNY incident turned out to be severe plug fouling as well - FBO
manager shrugged and said "it happens", needless to say that was my last flight
with them. :-)

--

GregR - Another Beemer Biker ...o&o

CA/IFR/BGI - KVNY

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