Pilot claims no blame in July crash

"Denny" wrote in message
oups.com...
There has been at least one case in the past where a CFI was riding in
the back seat and was still held to be liable due to having the highest
rating...

Do you have a reference to any documentation of this case?

Thanks,
Gary

wrote in message
...
One doesn't have to be instrument rated to file an IFR flight plan, do
they? What about a pilot that is working toward their instrument rating?
Their CFII doesn't file the flight plan *for* them, filing is all part
of the training, no?

I suspect a lot of pilots have filed and flown IFR flight plans with little
more than some IR training. This may be another such case.

--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

If I'm riding in back of a 747, can I be PIC? Seems some on this
thread have taken that poition.

Big John
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:20:35 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote:

Pilot claims no blame in July crash

By Andrew Dys
The Herald

http://www.heraldonline.com/local/st...-5022727c.html

The Ohio man who federal officials say was the pilot in a Rock Hill plane crash
claims he is being wrongly blamed for the July accident, which left two other
men dead.
Matthew Sullivan, 24, of Dublin, Ohio, told federal investigators and The Herald
he did not remember the flight or the crash and said he was not the pilot and
wasn't acting as a flight instructor that day. But he did remember the day
leading up to the flight, he said.

"I was strictly a passenger," Sullivan said in an phone interview from Ohio,
where he is recovering from serious injuries received in the crash.

Sullivan was one of three men on board the single-engine plane, which crashed
July 24 in a subdivision off Rawlinson Road, nearly one mile from the Rock
Hill/York County Airport. The others on board, Rock Hill native Eric Johnson and
Ohio dentist Bill Coulman, died.

Johnson was coming to Rock Hill for a Northwestern High School class reunion,
and Coulman owned the plane.

Federal regulators reported that fuel mismanagement by the pilot was likely
responsible for the crash. The mismanagement "resulted in fuel starvation and
subsequent loss of engine power," a National Transportation Safety Board report
states.

The NTSB identifies the pilot as Sullivan, who was sitting in the right front
seat of the plane and was the only one on board rated to fly under instrument
flight rules. The plane flew on instrument flight rules until changing to visual
flight rules four miles from the airport.

Instrument flight rules flying requires a higher licensing level and radio
contact between the plane and airport alerting the airport of the impending
landing, federal officials have said.

But Sullivan said he was invited by Coulman to be a passenger on the flight.
Sullivan said he had known Coulman for about a year but met Johnson for the
first time that morning at the Ohio State Airport in Columbus.

Sullivan said he did not know he was the only one on board with an instrument
flight rating and was not asked to be a flight instructor. He said he assumed
Johnson had an instrument rating and was in charge.

Coulman presented Johnson, who sat in the left front seat, as an Air Force
veteran and an experienced pilot, he said. "I was picturing a 'Top Gun.'"

The NTSB report describes Johnson and Coulman as "pilot rated passengers."
Another part of the NTSB report describes the two as "passenger" and "student
pilot." FAA records showed Johnson had been a licensed pilot since 1988.

Sullivan blames Coulman and Johnson.

"Dr. Coulman owned the plane, filed the flight plan and made the decision as to
who would fly the aircraft," Sullivan wrote to the NTSB. "Mr. Johnson actually
flew the plane knowing he did not have the certification or authority to do so.
It would be an injustice to blame me (as an invited guest) for their errors."

Sullivan said he is a flight instructor by training but was not acting as one
that day for either Johnson or Coulman.

"Matthew does not do for-hire flight instruction," his lawyer, Joe Coulter,
said.

Another lawyer for Sullivan, aviation law specialist Mark McDermott of
Washington, D.C., said the government is making Sullivan a "scapegoat" for the
crash. Both lawyers said Sullivan is being targeted by the federal government
because he is the sole survivor of the crash.

Federal officials declined to respond to the claims of Sullivan and his legal
team.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which has enforcement and pilot licensing
authority, confirmed it investigated Sullivan but took no action against him.
Because there was no action taken, there is nothing for Sullivan to appeal,
Southern region spokesperson Kathleen Bergen said.

NTSB spokesperson Lauren Peduzzi reaffirmed both agencies show that Sullivan was
flying the plane at the time of the accident and that the other two were
passengers. The NTSB, which handles crash investigations, has closed its case
and does not publicly respond to claims like Sullivan's, Peduzzi said.

Sullivan can appeal the NTSB ruling and is taking the right steps to do so if he
wants to be able to fly in the future, said Mike Hynes, who runs a Frederick,
Okla., aviation consulting business that does investigations for pilots and
their lawyers after crashes. Hynes is a former FAA examiner with more than
16,000 hours of flight time.

It's not surprising the FAA decided not to cite Sullivan because, with the other
men on board dead, it is hard to prove if he was acting as the flight
instructor, Hynes said.

However, Hynes is not surprised the NTSB ruled Sullivan was the flight
instructor.

"The normal rule of thumb is unless there is very clear evidence he was not the
flight instructor, he would be assumed to be the flight instructor," Hynes said.

The fuel selector switch is on the left part of the plane where Johnson was
sitting, said both Hynes and Erik Rigler of San Antonio, Texas, another aviation
expert who is a consultant in crashes and investigations.

The pilot in command designation does not mean that person was handling all the
controls, Hynes said, although the right hand seat does have access to some
flight controls.

The left front seat is generally called the pilot's seat, Hynes said.

However, Johnson, in the left front seat, couldn't be considered the pilot in
command if he was not instrument flight plan certified, Hynes said. Further,
only an instrument rated pilot is supposed to be able to file an instrument
flight plan, Hynes said.

The question of whether an on-board flight instructor is responsible comes up
often, Rigler said. A flight instructor himself, Rigler has had those concerns
personally when flying with pilots who don't have his high ratings.

A legal battle over liability is likely, both Hynes and Rigler said. The FAA
taking no enforcement against Sullivan makes a very strong case against
liability, Rigler said.

Most similar cases end up in civil courts and can take five years or more to
conclude, Hynes said.

In the airlines, part 121, the PIC is designated and remains
PIC even on the potty or asleep.



--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Big John" wrote in message
...
| If I'm riding in back of a 747, can I be PIC? Seems some
on this
| thread have taken that poition.
|
| Big John
| `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
|
| On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:20:35 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
| wrote:
|
| Pilot claims no blame in July crash
|
| By Andrew Dys
| The Herald
|
|
http://www.heraldonline.com/local/st...-5022727c.html
|
| The Ohio man who federal officials say was the pilot in a
Rock Hill plane crash
| claims he is being wrongly blamed for the July accident,
which left two other
| men dead.
| Matthew Sullivan, 24, of Dublin, Ohio, told federal
investigators and The Herald
| he did not remember the flight or the crash and said he
was not the pilot and
| wasn't acting as a flight instructor that day. But he did
remember the day
| leading up to the flight, he said.
|
| "I was strictly a passenger," Sullivan said in an phone
interview from Ohio,
| where he is recovering from serious injuries received in
the crash.
|
| Sullivan was one of three men on board the single-engine
plane, which crashed
| July 24 in a subdivision off Rawlinson Road, nearly one
mile from the Rock
| Hill/York County Airport. The others on board, Rock Hill
native Eric Johnson and
| Ohio dentist Bill Coulman, died.
|
| Johnson was coming to Rock Hill for a Northwestern High
School class reunion,
| and Coulman owned the plane.
|
| Federal regulators reported that fuel mismanagement by
the pilot was likely
| responsible for the crash. The mismanagement "resulted in
fuel starvation and
| subsequent loss of engine power," a National
Transportation Safety Board report
| states.
|
| The NTSB identifies the pilot as Sullivan, who was
sitting in the right front
| seat of the plane and was the only one on board rated to
fly under instrument
| flight rules. The plane flew on instrument flight rules
until changing to visual
| flight rules four miles from the airport.
|
| Instrument flight rules flying requires a higher
licensing level and radio
| contact between the plane and airport alerting the
airport of the impending
| landing, federal officials have said.
|
| But Sullivan said he was invited by Coulman to be a
passenger on the flight.
| Sullivan said he had known Coulman for about a year but
met Johnson for the
| first time that morning at the Ohio State Airport in
Columbus.
|
| Sullivan said he did not know he was the only one on
board with an instrument
| flight rating and was not asked to be a flight
instructor. He said he assumed
| Johnson had an instrument rating and was in charge.
|
| Coulman presented Johnson, who sat in the left front
seat, as an Air Force
| veteran and an experienced pilot, he said. "I was
picturing a 'Top Gun.'"
|
| The NTSB report describes Johnson and Coulman as "pilot
rated passengers."
| Another part of the NTSB report describes the two as
"passenger" and "student
| pilot." FAA records showed Johnson had been a licensed
pilot since 1988.
|
| Sullivan blames Coulman and Johnson.
|
| "Dr. Coulman owned the plane, filed the flight plan and
made the decision as to
| who would fly the aircraft," Sullivan wrote to the NTSB.
"Mr. Johnson actually
| flew the plane knowing he did not have the certification
or authority to do so.
| It would be an injustice to blame me (as an invited
guest) for their errors."
|
| Sullivan said he is a flight instructor by training but
was not acting as one
| that day for either Johnson or Coulman.
|
| "Matthew does not do for-hire flight instruction," his
lawyer, Joe Coulter,
| said.
|
| Another lawyer for Sullivan, aviation law specialist Mark
McDermott of
| Washington, D.C., said the government is making Sullivan
a "scapegoat" for the
| crash. Both lawyers said Sullivan is being targeted by
the federal government
| because he is the sole survivor of the crash.
|
| Federal officials declined to respond to the claims of
Sullivan and his legal
| team.
|
| The Federal Aviation Administration, which has
enforcement and pilot licensing
| authority, confirmed it investigated Sullivan but took no
action against him.
| Because there was no action taken, there is nothing for
Sullivan to appeal,
| Southern region spokesperson Kathleen Bergen said.
|
| NTSB spokesperson Lauren Peduzzi reaffirmed both agencies
show that Sullivan was
| flying the plane at the time of the accident and that the
other two were
| passengers. The NTSB, which handles crash investigations,
has closed its case
| and does not publicly respond to claims like Sullivan's,
Peduzzi said.
|
| Sullivan can appeal the NTSB ruling and is taking the
right steps to do so if he
| wants to be able to fly in the future, said Mike Hynes,
who runs a Frederick,
| Okla., aviation consulting business that does
investigations for pilots and
| their lawyers after crashes. Hynes is a former FAA
examiner with more than
| 16,000 hours of flight time.
|
| It's not surprising the FAA decided not to cite Sullivan
because, with the other
| men on board dead, it is hard to prove if he was acting
as the flight
| instructor, Hynes said.
|
| However, Hynes is not surprised the NTSB ruled Sullivan
was the flight
| instructor.
|
| "The normal rule of thumb is unless there is very clear
evidence he was not the
| flight instructor, he would be assumed to be the flight
instructor," Hynes said.
|
| The fuel selector switch is on the left part of the plane
where Johnson was
| sitting, said both Hynes and Erik Rigler of San Antonio,
Texas, another aviation
| expert who is a consultant in crashes and investigations.
|
| The pilot in command designation does not mean that
person was handling all the
| controls, Hynes said, although the right hand seat does
have access to some
| flight controls.
|
| The left front seat is generally called the pilot's seat,
Hynes said.
|
| However, Johnson, in the left front seat, couldn't be
considered the pilot in
| command if he was not instrument flight plan certified,
Hynes said. Further,
| only an instrument rated pilot is supposed to be able to
file an instrument
| flight plan, Hynes said.
|
| The question of whether an on-board flight instructor is
responsible comes up
| often, Rigler said. A flight instructor himself, Rigler
has had those concerns
| personally when flying with pilots who don't have his
high ratings.
|
| A legal battle over liability is likely, both Hynes and
Rigler said. The FAA
| taking no enforcement against Sullivan makes a very
strong case against
| liability, Rigler said.
|
| Most similar cases end up in civil courts and can take
five years or more to
| conclude, Hynes said.
|

"Big John" wrote in message
...
If I'm riding in back of a 747, can I be PIC? Seems some on this
thread have taken that poition.

Big John
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
Only if it crashed and your the only surviving pilot.



On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:20:35 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote:

Pilot claims no blame in July crash

By Andrew Dys
The Herald

http://www.heraldonline.com/local/st...-5022727c.html

The Ohio man who federal officials say was the pilot in a Rock Hill plane
crash
claims he is being wrongly blamed for the July accident, which left two
other
men dead.
Matthew Sullivan, 24, of Dublin, Ohio, told federal investigators and The
Herald
he did not remember the flight or the crash and said he was not the pilot
and
wasn't acting as a flight instructor that day. But he did remember the day
leading up to the flight, he said.

"I was strictly a passenger," Sullivan said in an phone interview from
Ohio,
where he is recovering from serious injuries received in the crash.

Sullivan was one of three men on board the single-engine plane, which
crashed
July 24 in a subdivision off Rawlinson Road, nearly one mile from the Rock
Hill/York County Airport. The others on board, Rock Hill native Eric
Johnson and
Ohio dentist Bill Coulman, died.

Johnson was coming to Rock Hill for a Northwestern High School class
reunion,
and Coulman owned the plane.

Federal regulators reported that fuel mismanagement by the pilot was
likely
responsible for the crash. The mismanagement "resulted in fuel starvation
and
subsequent loss of engine power," a National Transportation Safety Board
report
states.

The NTSB identifies the pilot as Sullivan, who was sitting in the right
front
seat of the plane and was the only one on board rated to fly under
instrument
flight rules. The plane flew on instrument flight rules until changing to
visual
flight rules four miles from the airport.

Instrument flight rules flying requires a higher licensing level and radio
contact between the plane and airport alerting the airport of the
impending
landing, federal officials have said.

But Sullivan said he was invited by Coulman to be a passenger on the
flight.
Sullivan said he had known Coulman for about a year but met Johnson for
the
first time that morning at the Ohio State Airport in Columbus.

Sullivan said he did not know he was the only one on board with an
instrument
flight rating and was not asked to be a flight instructor. He said he
assumed
Johnson had an instrument rating and was in charge.

Coulman presented Johnson, who sat in the left front seat, as an Air Force
veteran and an experienced pilot, he said. "I was picturing a 'Top Gun.'"

The NTSB report describes Johnson and Coulman as "pilot rated passengers."
Another part of the NTSB report describes the two as "passenger" and
"student
pilot." FAA records showed Johnson had been a licensed pilot since 1988.

Sullivan blames Coulman and Johnson.

"Dr. Coulman owned the plane, filed the flight plan and made the decision
as to
who would fly the aircraft," Sullivan wrote to the NTSB. "Mr. Johnson
actually
flew the plane knowing he did not have the certification or authority to
do so.
It would be an injustice to blame me (as an invited guest) for their
errors."

Sullivan said he is a flight instructor by training but was not acting as
one
that day for either Johnson or Coulman.

"Matthew does not do for-hire flight instruction," his lawyer, Joe
Coulter,
said.

Another lawyer for Sullivan, aviation law specialist Mark McDermott of
Washington, D.C., said the government is making Sullivan a "scapegoat" for
the
crash. Both lawyers said Sullivan is being targeted by the federal
government
because he is the sole survivor of the crash.

Federal officials declined to respond to the claims of Sullivan and his
legal
team.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which has enforcement and pilot
licensing
authority, confirmed it investigated Sullivan but took no action against
him.
Because there was no action taken, there is nothing for Sullivan to
appeal,
Southern region spokesperson Kathleen Bergen said.

NTSB spokesperson Lauren Peduzzi reaffirmed both agencies show that
Sullivan was
flying the plane at the time of the accident and that the other two were
passengers. The NTSB, which handles crash investigations, has closed its
case
and does not publicly respond to claims like Sullivan's, Peduzzi said.

Sullivan can appeal the NTSB ruling and is taking the right steps to do so
if he
wants to be able to fly in the future, said Mike Hynes, who runs a
Frederick,
Okla., aviation consulting business that does investigations for pilots
and
their lawyers after crashes. Hynes is a former FAA examiner with more than
16,000 hours of flight time.

It's not surprising the FAA decided not to cite Sullivan because, with the
other
men on board dead, it is hard to prove if he was acting as the flight
instructor, Hynes said.

However, Hynes is not surprised the NTSB ruled Sullivan was the flight
instructor.

"The normal rule of thumb is unless there is very clear evidence he was
not the
flight instructor, he would be assumed to be the flight instructor," Hynes
said.

The fuel selector switch is on the left part of the plane where Johnson
was
sitting, said both Hynes and Erik Rigler of San Antonio, Texas, another
aviation
expert who is a consultant in crashes and investigations.

The pilot in command designation does not mean that person was handling
all the
controls, Hynes said, although the right hand seat does have access to
some
flight controls.

The left front seat is generally called the pilot's seat, Hynes said.

However, Johnson, in the left front seat, couldn't be considered the pilot
in
command if he was not instrument flight plan certified, Hynes said.
Further,
only an instrument rated pilot is supposed to be able to file an
instrument
flight plan, Hynes said.

The question of whether an on-board flight instructor is responsible comes
up
often, Rigler said. A flight instructor himself, Rigler has had those
concerns
personally when flying with pilots who don't have his high ratings.

A legal battle over liability is likely, both Hynes and Rigler said. The
FAA
taking no enforcement against Sullivan makes a very strong case against
liability, Rigler said.

Most similar cases end up in civil courts and can take five years or more
to
conclude, Hynes said.

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
One doesn't have to be instrument rated to file an IFR flight plan, do
they? What about a pilot that is working toward their instrument rating?
Their CFII doesn't file the flight plan *for* them, filing is all part
of the training, no?

I suspect a lot of pilots have filed and flown IFR flight plans with
little more than some IR training. This may be another such case.

Evidence? Reasoning?

m

On 2006-03-13, unicate wrote:

One doesn't have to be instrument rated to file an IFR flight plan, do
they? What about a pilot that is working toward their instrument rating?
Their CFII doesn't file the flight plan *for* them, filing is all part
of the training, no?

No they don't. While training and doing IFR flights under IFR flight
plans as a student, I always filed with my own name (even though the
CFII was the PIC). I had to file an IFR flight plan for my checkride,
too. The DE didn't even comment when I filed it under my own name.

--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net

European and UK rules may be different, in the USA, the name
on an IFR flight plan as PIC must be a current IFR rated
pilot.



--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Dylan Smith" wrote in message
...
| On 2006-03-13, unicate
wrote:
|
| One doesn't have to be instrument rated to file an IFR
flight plan, do
| they? What about a pilot that is working toward their
instrument rating?
| Their CFII doesn't file the flight plan *for* them,
filing is all part
| of the training, no?
|
| No they don't. While training and doing IFR flights under
IFR flight
| plans as a student, I always filed with my own name (even
though the
| CFII was the PIC). I had to file an IFR flight plan for my
checkride,
| too. The DE didn't even comment when I filed it under my
own name.
|
| --
| Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
| Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
| Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute:
http://oolite-linux.berlios.de
| Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net

"Happy Dog" wrote in message
...

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...
One doesn't have to be instrument rated to file an IFR flight plan, do
they? What about a pilot that is working toward their instrument rating?
Their CFII doesn't file the flight plan *for* them, filing is all part
of the training, no?

I suspect a lot of pilots have filed and flown IFR flight plans with
little more than some IR training. This may be another such case.

Evidence? Reasoning?

What part of the word "suspect" don't you comprehend?

Aside from that, my evidence is NTSB reports I've read and that about one
driver in ten on the roads do not have valid drivers licenses; which is more
likely to get caught, driver or pilot?


--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

"Jim Macklin" wrote in message
news:3UrRf.117236$QW2.39755@dukeread08...
In the airlines, part 121, the PIC is designated and remains
PIC even on the potty or asleep.

Or both simutaneously.