Lawsuit Against Government Still Unresolved

The Irish-born commercial pilot who sued the TSA last year after he was placed on the agency's "No-Fly" list, without explanation, has been cleared to return to the cockpit.

Aero-News last visited the case of Robert Gray last November, when word got around he had sued the federal government for refusing to upgrade his commercial license last July. He was then placed on the No-Fly list outright two months later, in September 2005, according to Gray's lawyers.

While battling the government, Gray lost his flying job with regional operator Cape Air -- although he was kept on in a non-flying role. Most recently, the Cape Cod Times reports Gray worked as a pilot recruiter.

Although the case is reportedly still pending -- neither Gray's legal team nor the US attorney's office has reached a final settlement -- Gray was removed from the No-Fly list earlier this week.

Both entities also reported "substantial progress" in a status report of their talks last week.

Perhaps most importantly to Gray, however, is the fact he can fly again.

"We have what we need from all the federal agencies that would allow Robert Gray to get back in the pilot's seat and fly for Cape Air," airline spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said Monday. "He has been removed from the no-fly list for our purposes."

Gray has already submitted to the required medical exam to regain his commercial ticket.

"We expect he'll be flying by Wednesday," Haynes added. "He's back."

What remains unclear is why Gray was placed on the No-Fly in the first place. The government still hasn't said what led to Gray's name being added to the list of banned and prohibited pilots -- which his lawyers say is a violation of Gray's rights.

Before he was placed on the No-Fly list, the TSA cited "derogatory information" about Gray in "materials available to the TSA" as a reason to keep him from achieving a higher rating on his commercial ticket. The unspecified information led the agency to deem Gray "a threat to aviation or national security."

Neither Gray's lawyer -- Sarah Wunsch of the American Civil Liberties Union -- nor the US attorney's office in Boston would discuss the case Monday.

Gray -- who came to the US in 1993, began working as a pilot in 1997 and is a permanent legal resident of the US -- confirmed he has been released from the No-Fly list but declined to comment further, according to the Cape Cod Times, citing advice from his lawyers.

FMI: www.tsa.gov, www.capeair.com