14 yr old pilot

So when does the lawsuit from the parents against the airport and the owner
begin? Pain, suffering, distress. You know, it's the American way.

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 15:01:47 +0200, Thomas Borchert
wrote in
::

Larry,

The youth is not an adult. To expect him to have the judgment of an
adult is unreasonable.


But you'd agree that his behaviour was not, uhm, quite average for
14-year-olds, wouldn't you?

The kid's alleged behavior (being under age and driving his mother's
car presumably on a public street without possessing a driver's
licence nor her permission, and flying an aircraft without benefit of
license nor permission to use the aircraft) is irresponsible and
illegal. An adult would have been prosecuted with those crimes (and
may still be). In this country (US) the parents are responsible for
the behavior of their minor (under 18 years of age) children, so they
will at least bear the cost of damage their son caused to the
aircraft, and could conceivably face negligence charges if the
District Attorney feels the case warrants. All this is obvious.

Thomas Borchert wrote:
If you fly an airplane, you're an airplane pilot.

Uhuh. Like that 10-year-old girl (?) that got killed a while ago while
"piloting" a plane on a publicity stunt, right?

If it's the one I think you're thinking of (2nd leg of trip originating
from Half Moon Bay, CA), she was not alone, she was with her father and
a flight instructor, and it was reported (accuracy unknown) that to stay
on schedule for the media there and at the next scheduled location, they
knowingly took off into weather. Was that ever verified?

"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
online.com...
Jonathan Goodish wrote:

The parents obviously weren't paying attention to what he
was up to, and obviously left the keys in a place accessible to him.

Do parents have to hide their keys? My two boys are still too young for
this to be an issue, but I don't recall this from my own youth. I don't
happen to know where my Mom kept keys, but I recall clearly my Dad coming
home from work and placing his keys (and ID) on a dresser in his bedroom.

[I later started having nightmares when I found myself doing the exact
same
thing coming home from work laugh.]

Now, if you left them in your purse, they'd you'd have a good reason for
nightmares.

"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:v6Jse.13278$5s1.12355@trndny06...
Robert Morien wrote:

aw, come on. How does a 14 year old without any flying experience manage
to start an airplane, much less know how to control the throttle?

The ignition switch works just like a car, which he's seen used thousands
of
times. The throttle on a 152 is exactly like that on a farm tractor and is
clearly labeled. I'd bet he's either been given rides in aircraft or
driven a
tractor.

Throttle, hell...how'd he learn to work the rudders with this feet to taxi
to the runway?

In article ,
Larry Dighera wrote:
The kid's alleged behavior (being under age and driving his mother's
car presumably on a public street without possessing a driver's
licence nor her permission, and flying an aircraft without benefit of
license nor permission to use the aircraft) is irresponsible and
illegal. An adult would have been prosecuted with those crimes (and
may still be). In this country (US) the parents are responsible for
the behavior of their minor (under 18 years of age) children, so they
will at least bear the cost of damage their son caused to the
aircraft, and could conceivably face negligence charges if the
District Attorney feels the case warrants. All this is obvious.


But quite often, not so simple. What if the offender has limited to no
ability to pay? What if the driver who hits you on the freeway has no
insurance? What if the guy who hits you has insurance, but you only get
blue-book on a total loss for a car you just drove off the lot yesterday?

Some parents just don't care, and as a result, their kids just don't
care. In the end, the good guy often ends up out of luck in some
fashion.



JKG

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 15:01:47 +0200, Thomas Borchert
wrote in
::

Larry,

The youth is not an adult. To expect him to have the judgment of an
adult is unreasonable.


But you'd agree that his behaviour was not, uhm, quite average for
14-year-olds, wouldn't you?

The kid's alleged behavior (being under age and driving his mother's
car presumably on a public street without possessing a driver's
licence nor her permission, and flying an aircraft without benefit of
license nor permission to use the aircraft) is irresponsible and
illegal. An adult would have been prosecuted with those crimes (and
may still be). In this country (US) the parents are responsible for
the behavior of their minor (under 18 years of age) children, so they
will at least bear the cost of damage their son caused to the
aircraft, and could conceivably face negligence charges if the
District Attorney feels the case warrants. All this is obvious.



It doesn't matter much, though.

He probably already has an agent, a book deal, a deposit on a TV movie, and
a speaking tour on the "Dangers of 14-Year-Olds Let Loose in Poorly Secured
GA Airports". In his adult years, he will open a Flight School with
revolutionary new training techniques that allow Student Solo certification
after just 2 hours dual and a full PPL in an additional 5 hours solo. He
will become a lobbyist/consultant to have the FAA amend their regulations
accordingly.... perhaps even become head of said FAA and revolutionize it
completely.

People will look back at his teen-age indiscretions with amusement, as they
do at their own.

Icebound wrote:

It doesn't matter much, though.

He probably already has an agent, a book deal, a deposit on a TV movie, and
a speaking tour on the "Dangers of 14-Year-Olds Let Loose in Poorly Secured
GA Airports". In his adult years, he will open a Flight School with
revolutionary new training techniques that allow Student Solo certification
after just 2 hours dual and a full PPL in an additional 5 hours solo. He
will become a lobbyist/consultant to have the FAA amend their regulations
accordingly.... perhaps even become head of said FAA and revolutionize it
completely.

People will look back at his teen-age indiscretions with amusement, as they
do at their own.

But did he loop, roll and spin it? If so he's an editor candidate for a
webmag...

"W P Dixon" wrote in message
...
I disagree Jonathan,
A responsible parent does not need to hide things from teenagers. A parent
teaching discipline, respect, and responsibility would solve alot more
problems. If he were mine he would not have to worry much about riding in
cars or planes for a spell..because the docs would be removing my foot out
of his butt !
But I am glad the young renegade did not kill himself, and more so did
not kill anyone else! But we all know how "today's " world goes, he will
probably be put in the time out chair for a few hours and then the parents
will wonder why he is a convicted felon in a few years.

There is lots of evidence that creating a felon out of a 14-year-old does
neither the boy nor society any good, but that's another arguement.

And I do agree the parents probably did not have a clue as to what this
kid did or does. But remember the good old days when parents could be
parents? When I was a kid if you went to a store with your folks and acted
up , you got your backside tore up right there in front of God and
everybody else.

Unfortunately, the net effect was for you to then try to spite them all the
more, the next chance you got.

Try to do that now and they send your kids to foster care and you to
prison. So maybe the whole blame just isn't on a parents lack of parenting
skills, but a combination of a lack of those skills and interference by
the government.

Now I am in agreement that parental discipline is being seriously eroded by
well-meaning anti-abuse laws, but there is something of a difference between
a "lack-of-discipline" , and "dangerous curiousity". The most well-behaved
child in the world, with all the right values, can still have a dangerous
curiousity that he just can't resist testing.


Myself I feel a 14 year old is old enough to take the blame for his own
actions..I blame this young fellow more than anything else. He is not two,
we should not have to hide the dish cleaners from him anymore, nor should
we have to hide our possessions...he should know right from wrong at this
point. If he doesn't he sure has a hard row to hoe.



At this point we cannot judge whether this fellow is truly a felon, or
simply a kid who could not resist a mis-guided curiosity. I suggest that
half the posters to this NG have participated in some dangerous activity in
their teens, lived through it, and became reasonably model citizens. Most
didn't get caught... many got lucky that they didn't kill someone...

As society got more complicated, it has become easier for mis-guided
teenagers to kill themselves or others, so extra education and caution is
necessary, sure. But a 14-year-old who did a stupid and dangerous thing
should not necessarily be labelled a felon for life.

Civil restitution is something else, but the *criminal* prosecution of a
14-year-old should be guided by his intent, rather than by a knee-jerk
because of the extent of damage caused.

In article ,
"Icebound" wrote:
Now I am in agreement that parental discipline is being seriously eroded by
well-meaning anti-abuse laws, but there is something of a difference between
a "lack-of-discipline" , and "dangerous curiousity". The most well-behaved
child in the world, with all the right values, can still have a dangerous
curiousity that he just can't resist testing.


And if that's the case, the parents need to keep a closer watch on the
child.


JKG