July 19 - Prosecutors in Northern California have charged 46 pilots with lying to federal authorities to obtain airplane licenses, in most cases not disclosing debilitating illnesses that should have kept them grounded.

The pilots, who were indicted this week by grand juries in the eastern and northern federal districts of California, were identified during an 18-month criminal air traffic safety investigation by the Department of Transportation and the Social Security Administration that looked into licensed pilots who were also receiving disability benefits and payments from the government. (Marshall, 2005)

Prompt:

After reading this article above, how do you view being truthful on your FAA medical? Let's say a friend approaches you and says that they have a medical condition that you know the FAA would not approve. He says that he did not mention the condition on his FAA medical examination. What would you say to this friend to warn them of the possible dangers of withholding information during an FAA medical? What could possibly happen for FAA enforcement in the future? Please provide examples

References

Marshall, C. (2005, July 20). U.S. says 46 pilots lied to obtain their licenses. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/20/us/us-says-46-pilots-lied-to-obtain-their-licenses.html