Commercial flight or not?
 

The AAIB have recently released the accident report AAIB Bulletin No: 2/2001 Ref: EW/C2000/6/1 with you can see on the AAIB website at

http://www.open.gov.uk/aaib/feb01htm/gbmnt.htm

In the report it states;

"The pilot was flying on a freelance basis for a company carrying their passengers to and from race meetings"

in the same section it states;

"He held a Commercial Pilot's Licence but was not required to undergo a type test to conduct a private flight."

questions;

If he was acting as PIC using his CPL, being paid for his professional services (I guess he wasn't doing it for free?), then does this not constitute a commercial flight rather than a private flight??

If it was a commercial flight, should he have possessed a valid type rating for that particular aircraft??

NB; I'm not inferring the AAIB report is wrong, I'd just like to find out for future reference why it was classed as a 'private flight'.

Viewpoints/knowledge welcomed.

If he was flying 'their' plane, ie the private company it was not a public transport flight as the passengers weren't paying a fee for their seat.

As for the type rating, it depends what he was flying.....I haven't read the report but I am guessing you are refering to the Seneca accident. You will find that the pilot may well have had a 'Multi Engine - Piston Land' rating which allows you to fly any piston twin under a certain weight, can't remember off hand what it is, but the Seneca certainly falls into that category. Normally the owner (usually a school, club etc) would require you to do a few hours under instruction to familiarise yourself with the a/c, but I think I am right in saying that for a non public transport flight there is no legal requirement for this.

As I have said, I have not read the report.....just answered what you posted, so I don't know how relevant it is in this case.

PP

In order to be paid for a flight the pilot must hold a Commercial Licence this is a basic licensing requirement.

So long as no money changes hands for the purppose of the flight other than for the remuneration of the pilot the flight is deemed to be a Private flight. Art 130

For a private flight the pilot needs a valid Class rating, there is no type rating for the Seneca. Had it been a public transport flight then an AOC would have been required and the pilot would be subject to a 6 monthly Operator Proficiency Check.

There are a lot of benovolent people in racing who transport jockeys around for nothing, or so they claim.

[This message has been edited by Noggin (edited 21 February 2001).]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much apprecated, I didn't realise (know) that if you used a privately owned aircraft and only had to pay for the pilot's wages then it was classed only as a private flight. ie. I thought as soon as a pilot was being paid for reward in a flight situation then it effectively became a commercial flight.

I guess in the example stated then, the question is, did the passengers pay for the use of the aircraft as well as the pilot's wages(ie. hire the aircraft/pilot from a company) or was it an aircraft they owned and just paid a pilot to fly them around?


Can you suggest a publication/book that clearly explains all of the current regs on this topic in a fairly simple and easy to follow way?

PP,

Under the JAR's the weight limit for the MEP rating is 5,700kg.

yep, thanks Foggy that rings the correct bell with me..........too idle to look it up myself!

PP

Foghorn. You are wrong. There is no weight limit for a FAR-FCL MEP Class rating. 5700 Kgs died with the Group A B and C ratings for licensing purposes. It is still used for airworthiness purposes.