sdondavis

At this point, more than two years has elapsed since the unsteerable nosewheel incident that resulted in my nose gear collapse landing accident. As I have previously stated here several times; this was an unpredictable nose wheel steering malfunction, without detection or resolution and was very fortunate to have kept aircraft on the runway. With very few facts FAA immediately concluded my actions had caused the problem and began their investigation towards enforcement. They not only prejudged the cause but fabricated the "facts" to fit this narrative, twisting my words, misstating my actions and alleging statements by me that were never made.        Although the FAA's system of investigation supposedly provides for fair assessment, an appeals process and retraining instead of enforcement, I encountered the exact opposite, and was immediately second guessed by inexperienced FAA inspectors that never suggested any alternatives or offered anything other than criticism; even

Have been a professional pilot since 1970 and through various aviation positions, worked closely with assigned inspectors, mostly from the FAA district office in Milwaukee. Irrespective of the job, flight instructor, Chief instructor, FBO General Manager, Line pilot, Chief pilot, Director of Operations, Check Airman, Designated Pilot examiner or Knowledge test supervisor, A&P mechanic, Inspection Authorization, etc; FAA was always in the background, observing, training, recommending or commenting, essentially insuring I was conducting my position within Federal mandates. More often than not, with a limited aviation experience background, nonetheless holding a position of authority from which they often demanded an immediate positive response and 100% cooperation and support. To openly disagree or otherwise voice dissent was to be branded with a “bad attitude” or the “inability to work harmoniously with the FAA”. Didn’t work in reverse however, and the easiest way to get along was t

After several months of waiting for the NTSB to hear my appeal, a pre-hearing zoom conference was scheduled for January 19, 2023. Shortly before this, the FAA lawyer contacted me through email stating that the administrative law judge would be asking if we were attempting to negotiate a settlement and was I open for a discussion.  I said that I was but doubted the FSDO would negotiate in good faith based upon their actions so far, specifically those made by my supervising inspector, and station manager, citing as an example; In the releasable portion of the Examiners Investigative Report (EIR), how at least 6 false statements were made along with several more misleading ones. Then several more regarding the initial conference call with Milwaukee FSDO 5 days after the accident. Essentially a 45' interrogation by the station manager with the assistant manager, accusing inspector and others listening in, then claiming things I never said or did, which was used as basis for termination

I became a Designated Pilot Examiner circa 1984 in order to better serve our customers and offer a more reasonable evaluation than I believed possible at that time, plus it seemed the logical extension of my duties as Chief Instructor where I trained just as many pilots as I tested. Although I felt totally at ease with my ability to fairly critique the flying skills of others, I was keenly aware of the long term responsibility associated with certificating each pilot. More so than most I suppose because there were many times when I lost friends, co-workers, business associates, acquaintances, and former students; at least 25-30 people. Although none of these was a result of my instruction methods or testing there were valuable lessons to be learned from their misfortune and so I altered my teaching to prevent others from having similar accidents. Considering that only one of these accidents was mechanical failure (wing separation), the rest were pilot mistakes, and therefore preventabl

Federal Aviation Administration abused it's authority by beginning an investigation having already concluded pilot error then contriving case against a US citizen. They "Investigate" by intimidation, innuendo, prejudice, misinterpretation, and misdirection. I was discriminated against because I asked about my rights and never was told, however, they did provide a brochure claiming THEIR rights to investigate and I would be treated fairly with emphasis on retraining versus suspension. Quite the opposite however, as there were many pointed questions asked during the initial interview and later during a conference call which were subsequently used as justification to suspend the examiner designation. Many irrelevant questions were asked as they probed for wrongdoing, referencing the secured engine, such as a 2kt crosswind, idling engine, generator/hydraulic pump location, and student capability should I become incapacitated on the single engine approach. Common tactic by FAA

 For all my friends, students, customers, associates and interested parties I would like to explain the ongoing situation resulting from my accident in late February 2021. While instructing a private pilot in the multi engine airplane, we experienced an unresolvable mechanical problem that resulted in a landing with collapsed nose gear. Fortunately, there were no injuries however there was substantial damage to the aircraft that resulted in a personal loss to only myself. Air traffic controllers contacted the FAA, who immediately started making demands without due process of any nature. Student and myself were ordered to submit written statements, aircraft recovery personnel along with airport officials were asked to take and submit photos of the aircraft, tower controllers were interviewed and recorded tapes reviewed. I was never given the option to respond to their questions or given my rights, if any and although FAA inspectors consider me uncooperative, they did manage to fabricate