My apologies if I am asking questions that have been covered elsewhere – when searching the forums I found this thread
http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-a...k-forgery.html , but I was looking for more specific information that did not seem to be answered there, and am hoping more clever and wiser minds than mine can answer some questions.
My questions are about log book fraud/ false entries/’massaging’ of flight time in Australia.
I have been told that some slight adjustment of figures is common, especially amongst low hour pilots (e.g. adding an additional 0.1 to some flights).
Is this actually common practice?
If so, at what point do you ppruners think this becomes excessive/fraudulent?( Is 0.1 on some flights allowable? Is 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, or 0.4 too much for a flight? Is any ‘adjustment’ just plain fraudulent?)
According to the CASA website :
Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Pilot Log Books , falsification of flight time is a criminal offence. CAR 5.51 has a note saying “
Note It is an offence against regulation 283 for a person to make a false or misleading statement in his or her personal log book , but CAR 283 doesn’t exist – it seems to have dropped out of the Regulations sometime in the last 10 years or so.
For current legislation:
CAR 5.51
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legi...on1988Vol2.pdf
CAR 282 - 286
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/Legi...on1988Vol3.pdf
So if CASA do take regulatory action against a pilot, under what laws/parts of law are they acting?
What evidence is required to prove suspected logbook fraud? Is exaggeration of flight hours the same as falsification?
If you are made aware that someone is currently, or has in the past been exaggerating flight time in their log book what are your legal obligations?
Are there any implications for an organizations Chief Pilot if they are aware that a pilot employed in their organization has inflated flight time in the past? If they continue to do so while employed by the organization as a pilot?
What are the insurance implications for the organization if they allow that pilot to use their aircraft, knowing that there may be false or inflated flight time?
Would you employ a pilot if you had suspicions about the accuracy of their log book? Does this reflect on their general integrity, would this person be a risk of breaches of professionalism in other aspects of their flying, or is it a common enough occurance to be allowable under some circumstances with careful monitoring?
Your comments and advice are appreciated.
Cheers,
Spotty Dog