Originally Posted by
Max Tow
Following the Emilio Sala crash, there's a huge stink in Europe about a blind eye having been turned to PPLs conducting commercial operations in the guise of the cost sharing exemption(see the "Accidents & Near Misses" section for the sorry saga to date).
I was therefore interested when my 8 y.o. son was invited on a $100 club excursion which apparently includes a C172 flight and saw the following: "flying activities carried out by XXX are conducted as a private flying operation and all participants share in the costs." Pardon my perhaps unjustified concern, but what documentation, if any, should I be asking for? Is this any different from buying a trial flight at a flying school?
Max Tow,
Firstly, no, it is nothing like a "trial instructional flight", which would be conducted under an Air Operators Certificate for a flying school.
"Cost sharing" is "legal" but only under defined circumstances, and cost must be shared by all on board, INCLUDING the pilot.
There is a long history of very inventive excuses/schemes to conduct disguised charters as "private flights", this may or may not be one of them, but one thing is certain, there would be no Passenger Liability Insurance in the event of injury or death. Such insurance is mandatory for all passenger operations conducted under an AOC.
In this particular case, much more detail is needed to determine whether the operation was "legal", let alone wise.
CASA (rightly, in my view) take a very dim view of disguised charters ( soon to be Part 135 Air Transport at this level) .which are private operations.
Tootle pip!!