FL - I'm sure you and I would be on safe grounds in agreeing on one firm piece of advice: if this isn't theoretical and somebody is genuinely in some potential trouble, they really should go and consult properly, even if they have to pay for the advice, rather than trusting anything that they read on here.
That's what I said in my previous post. However,
chopjock says it's hypothetical at the moment so there's no harm in asking for advice here.
Don't under-estimate the knowledge and experience of the professional helicopter pilots/engineers in this forum.
Someone may even have encountered the issue he's raised and be able to tell him what he needs to do and/or should not do. He says it may or may not come to something. If it does, then it would be a wise precaution to obtain an expert opinion in writing before proceeding further.
Whether for advice before final decision re going ahead, or in the event of a prosecution, it is absolutely vital that the expert should have
relevant expertise and experience.
eg There are some aspects of aviation in which I would have been very happy to use you as an expert, but obviously not for something like this.
Legalapproach
you need to get a good aviation lawyer with access to good experts.
A non-specialist solicitor can be enough in some instances
provided the barrister is a specialist, but I agree a specialist team is obviously better. (For several reasons.)
Agaricus bisporus Assuming that is exactly what the barrister said, I too was puzzled by the advice you were given by the "eminent barrister specialising in aviation cases."
There were occasions when I advised a pilot to plead guilty, but only if he had no defence. I never had any difficulty coping with the CAA prosecution team. What you describe seems odd.
It's correct that clients are sometimes worried about "going to court against the CAA" and I suspect magistrates or juries may well start off assuming that what you describe as the "Mighty CAA" must know if something is legal or illegal because they are the regulators. However, I never found that to be an insurmountable problem.
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