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NTSB weighs not taking FAA’s word for granted
Posted on December 24, 2010 by David Pardo The NTSB is seeking public comments on the standards its administrative law judges use in deciding whether to overturn emergency revocation of airman certificates by the FAA.
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One subject on which the safety board seeks comment is the section under Part 821 of the regulations that states a judge weighing a request to reverse an emergency revocation “should assume that the acts and omissions alleged in the FAA’s emergency order are true.”
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The NTSB also seeks comment on the section of Part 821 that requires administrative law judges to ascertain whether the FAA’s action “was appropriate under the circumstances, given the potential threat to aviation safety,” rather than deciding whether the FAA emergency determination “was rationally supportable under an abuse-of-discretion standard.”
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=3569ff6f-1f7a-476c-9944-87d1cdce266d&
Translation: “You’ve abused your discretion one too many times, FAA.” The status quo standard is very lenient to the FAA, allowing it to revoke the operator’s certificate and the NTSB would uphold such a move, provided the FAA doesn’t abuse its discretion.
Well, one too many abuses later and the NTSB decided to change this relationship, upping the stakes and changing the circumstances under which it would accept the FAA’s rationale.
Let the NTSB know what you think about this, here: http://tinyurl.com/26mfxbv
http://federalregister.gov/a/2010-32056
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