Tue, Jul 15, 2014
FAA Proposes $66,000 Civil Penalty Against Nazarene Aviation Fellowship
Long after his activities took two lives in 2012 and nearly a year after he killed himself and an innocent passenger in yet another feat of aerial stupidity, the FAA has acted somewhat appreciably against the crimes of David Riggs (outside of a revocation which he ignored).
Despite multiple warnings/evidence from ANN, Aviation Criminal's Kristy Graham, and a number of other concerned Aero-Citizens, it took yet another fatal accident (Riggs having been the 'director' during a film stunt that killed two L-39 pilots, years before) for the FAA to stand up and do something besides slap Riggs on the hand... the problem is, though, that he's not around to feel the sting.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $66,000 civil penalty against Nazarene Aviation Fellowship of Overland Park, Kan., for allegedly violating Federal Aviation Regulations.
The FAA alleges that Nazarene Aviation Fellowship operated an aircraft in an unauthorized and unsafe manner. Nazarene owned an Aero Vodochody L-39 jet that had a special, experimental airworthiness certificate for the purpose of exhibition and air racing. Nazarene allegedly gave a pilot named David Riggs permission to use the aircraft during May 2012 to perform proficiency checks on other pilots and for motion picture filming activities.
Riggs, however, used the aircraft on May 18, 2012, to conduct three passenger-carrying flights out of Boulder City Airport in Nevada. He allegedly charged passengers for those flights, and each flight was operated in formation with another Aero Vodochody L-39.
During the third formation flight, the pilot flying in formation with Riggs crashed, killing himself and his passenger.
The FAA alleges Nazarene violated Federal Aviation Regulations that prohibit operating an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger other people's lives or property; operating an aircraft in formation flight while carrying passengers for hire; and charging people for rides on an aircraft with an experimental airworthiness certificate.
The FAA revoked Riggs' pilot certificate for the regulation violations he committed during the May 18, 2012 flights.
Nazarene has been in communication with the FAA about this matter.
Editor's Note: There are a number of other players in this matter that gave Riggs ample support in these activities and we're very curious about what, if anything, the FAA will do about 'Incredible Adventures' -- the company that allegedly booked the ill-fated flights and promoted Riggs endlessly and shamelessly for these deadly flights... we shall see. More info to follow.
More News
Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System ODALS consists of seven omnidirectional flashing lights located in the approach area of a nonprecision runway. Five lights are located on t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
Also: 1800th E-Jet, Uncle Sam Sues For Landing Gear, Embraer Ag Plane, Textron Parts A friend of the family reported that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Glenn Rutan flew west on Friday, M>[...]
Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]
“Our aircrews are trained and capable of rapidly shifting from operational missions to humanitarian roles. We planned to demonstrate how we, and our BORSTAR partners, respond>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.05.24): Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System
See All