Gone West:
Please can you confirm that these new rules are not applicable to training for ratings and certificates if they are not used on large airplanes?
With regard to the NZ and Aus deportations, involving the use of handcuffs and treatment as criminals, I guess that is not surprising when the US govt treats its citizens the same way for being guilty of wanting to fly on an airliner as passenger or crew.
From what has been reported, the NZ guy was not even aware that he was related to Sadam (who, by the way, is not an "international terrorist" but is a head of state of a country that is accused of supporting terrorism). By declaring their intention to attend flying training while in the US on a tourist visa these guys showed they had nothing to hide, and if they had been allowed to enter they still would not have been guilty of an offence unless they did attend the course. A responsible school would have not accepted them without the appropriate visa, and should have advised them before they left NZ or Aus of the revised requirements. Furthermore, if they entered on a B1/B2 they would have been entitled to remain while they had their visa changed to a training visa. I cannot see a crime, no matter how hard I look.
Maybe you have been paying too much attention to the propaganda too?
A US citizen, treated this way, would immediately have gone looking for his lawyer, and who would blame him?
Sorry about the rant. What I really want is facts about training for ratings, as per my question above, and I hope I do not offend, but the facts on the cases of these two fellows are also important, since any of us could be caught up in the red tape as easily.