Pilot jailed for forging entries in his licence and logbooks
 

https://www.caa.co.uk/news/helicopte...rging-licence/

And a minor correction - the jail sentence is suspended, so he won't be jailed unless he's convicted of further offences in the next two years.

just to help matters difficult to prove the hours in a log book as
Logbook hours are from moment blades start to turn to the come to a complete rest
aircraft datcon is normally based on gearbox pressure light going on / off
Squat switch records time aircraft off the ground

So three different things to record !!!!

This seems to be the really dodgy bit.....

"A commercial helicopter pilot has been sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, at Lewes Crown Court on 6 April 2022 for forging revalidations in his pilot’s licence......"

That is pretty bold bordering on plain stupid.

The local rag’s take on the case:

A MAN acted as a helicopter pilot without proper validation, a court has heard.

In what has been described as a “an unusual” case, Alison Slater, prosecuting for the Civil Aviation Authority, told Hove Crown Court that Giles Dumper, 41, forged signatures and falsified pages on key documents.

The court heard that Dumper flew the "twin-squirrel" helicopter while other people were onboard and examined other pilots without the proper licence.

Dumper, of Chatelet Close, Horley, pleaded guilty to 14 charges at an earlier hearing.

The prosecutor added that the authority had revoked Dumper’s licence following his conviction.

“There is a high degree of culpability in this case,” she said.

Her Honour Judge Shani Barnes sentenced Dumper to a total of 24 months’ imprisonment at Hove Crown Court on April 5.

However, the judge said the sentence would be suspended for 24 months after hearing that Dumper was highly experienced and had previously been certified as a pilot and examiner who could “very easily” have passed the necessary qualifications had he followed the required steps.

She put his offences down to “bravado” and described the case as “unusual”, adding it was “fortunate” that no one was injured while Dumper was using false documents.

She said “public confidence” was key and added: “The public trust people who fly them somewhere.”

The judge likened his actions to that of an unaccredited paramedic who attended an emergency.

The court was told that Dumper’s reputation was “trashed” and it was unlikely he would ever fly again.

Addressing the defendant in the dock, the judge said: “You have thrown away a good career.”

Dumper, who was supported in court by his friends and family, was also ordered to attend 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.


https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/20046903.amp/

I assume the charge of "making false entries in his personal flying log" relates to entering fictitious flights to match the forged revalidation entries in his license

So how'd he get caught? Was this guy a crappy pilot, or just some dude too poor to afford the type rating fees?

Reminds me of a guy (my B2B at the time) who was caught out by a scrutineer checking his logbook prior to submission for a rating renewal. According to his entries he was flying a bizjet in the USA while simultaneously flying a B206 in Nigeria. The "scan" of his logbook was cursory but the entries were so blatant they were impossible to miss.

He literally disappeared, only to reappear as a senior manager in another company and went on to become their MD.

I wonder how these people think they're going to get away with it !

NEO

So quite experienced, I can only assume the motivation was money related...

One thing I don't get is that he will not go to prison according to @The Nr Fairy but since CCA revoked the license what do that mean? He will need to re-sit CPL again or is he banned for ever?

Hmm,...and I'm an 800 hour pilot driving a truck because they want 1,000 hours just to take people in a straight line over the Vegas Strip for five minutes at a time.

Oh well, maybe in the next life I'll have the balls to lie on my resume?

It seems obvious he did not inflate his hours - he invented check rides (to be global). i.e. he passed tests he never actually took.

If I misread the situation I’m all ears.

Looks to me he examined his own ratings and passed.:)

and plenty of 10.000 hour pilots are switching back to driving trucks !

I worked with the guy who used his dads ATPL to get a job at his dads company where his dad was a training Captain . He was only a few hundred hours away from getting his licence and he had good hands and feet . Just got impatient and decided to forge ahead with his career .
They caught him just before the first revenue flight . I won’t name him as he followed his dad to the next company and has been flying safely there for years . Nice guy but he lied to me and I just laughed it off as I was used to working with chancers . He was not a very good liar I advised him not to play poker as he had too many tells that are easy to read when he bluffed .

Heard on the News today that Walmart is starting Big Rig Drivers at $110,00 per year....and is a first class outfit to drive for.....compare that to starting pay for Helicopter Pilots and the cost of obtaining your license.

Truck Sleepers beat Tents and the back seat of a helicopter!

Maybe, but they don't beat a real bed in a real home. I'll take a $50k tour job and a studio apartment over $110k, Flying J showers, and lot lizards any day!

The safety argument about safety being jeopardised does fall over slightly if a fixed wing class rating can be revalidated and not individual types all the time. Same for the rotary single engine grouping. However it’s still a rule in europe, ME and Canada so you must comply.

Did the police pilot get a similar sentence? Given the nature of that type of flying I would suggest any contravention there far more of a safety concern than this stupidity/greed.

If not then there are serious questions to be asked of the CAA and judicial system.

Robbiee,

Apparently you do not know much about the Trucking Operation run by Walmart.

They run from Walmart Distribution Centers to Walmart Stores with the occasional stop on the way back to the DC to pick up drop and hook trailers at major suppliers to the DC's.

Rarely do they sleep in the trucks and when they do...they get paid extra for that.

For your standard Over the Road Truckers....you are closer to correct depending upon the Operator....and kind of hauling being done.

UPS over the road truckers work from Hubs and live at home....and have work days just as standard occupations do....and make excellent salaries with the usual Teamster benefits.

Trucking ain't all about Flying J's and Lot Lizards.

As with much of the helicopter industry, I don't have enough experience to drive for Walmart, so all I know is from their job ads.

If Walmart truckers aren't sleeping in their trucks much, then where are they sleeping on those six days a week away from home the job ads mention?

​​​​​​As for UPS? Like with Fedex (where my experience is) yes City and Road Drivers are home every night (or day as Road Driver is an overnight shift), but that's not really "over the road" sleeper cab, that's local day cab driving. Plus, those UPS jobs advertise 12 hour shifts. That's not what I'd call standard to other occupations.

As an entry level City Driver I made $21 bucks an hour with full benefits. Sure its better than every entry level job I've interviewed for flying a helicopter, but that pay doesn't cut it in the SF Bay Area,...unless you like living with your parents?

Getting to a liveable wage (let alone a middle-class one) in trucking can be just as daunting as in helicopters. However, given my experience with both industries, I'd say they both suck. To be frank, if I could make a living at it, I'd rather just drive the monorail at Disney World.

Generally I don't like to persist with these threads, but you aspire to be a helicopter pilot in the USA. Unless you are one of the few that find and retain that golden job for a whole career, you will be flying HAA to keep the lights on at some point. The standard schedule is a 12 hour day. The vendors, Medtrans, Metro etc, will try and pay you nothing with minimal benefits, probably $70k to start. The non-profits will start you out in 6 figures with experience with generous PTO time, the same that their nurses and medics get. Flying a helicopter can be fun, but believe me I'm ready to jump ship...literally sometimes.