Prior appealed the FAA’s proposed certificate action to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Prior and the FAA appeared before NTSB Administrative Law Judge William R. Mullins, whose ruling exculpating Prior of violation of Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) §91.119 and upholding the violation of landing within Escondido’s city limits displeased both the FAA and Prior. The story isn’t over as both Prior and the FAA have appealed the decision of the NTSB Judge. We will report on future actions in this case.
We have interviewed Judge Mullins, who could not discuss his decision in FAA v. Prior until the appeal has been heard by the NTSB Board, however, he did send a copy of his Initial Decision and Order. NTSB Public Affairs has been very helpful in sending material on their procedures and their mandate from Congress. We’ve talked with the Operations Inspector who investigated the Prior event, and we’ve interviewed Operations Inspectors in 4 different Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) for details of the FAA’s policy and procedures regarding complaints against airmen. We’ve communicated with the Escondido Police Department and we’ve interviewed police officers in other communities where ballooning takes place.
Prior’s experience, and similar experiences of balloonists across the country in the last few years, should make us realize we have to take positive steps to protect our rights and privileges.
We’ve drawn several conclusions from Prior’s case and other ballooning cases: the FAA and local authorities know little about ballooning; local FSDOs do not apply Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to balloon operations in a standard, uniform manner; because the regulations we’re accused of violating were written for powered aircraft, and even more specifically for airplanes, certain applications of FARs made to balloon operations are inappropriate.
[Author’s note: Balloons are not powered aircraft. The heater, or burner, is an air converter, not a powerplant.]
We balloonists have allowed ignorance of ballooning—by the FAA, state and local authorities, and the general public—to diminish our freedom. We should be assertive in assuring that our privileges are not eroded by unjust legislation and inappropriate application of regulations. Ignorance, which is not a mental condition or state, but simply a lack of knowledge, can be cured.
The FAA should be our partner in promoting ballooning. We perhaps have not understood, and certainly not taken advantage of the fact that one of the mandates of the FAA is to promote aeronautics. Although ballooning was the first form of aviation, it is, to most FAA personnel and the NTSB, a new and unusual form of flying, and balloons seem exotic. The rules were written for heavier-than-air aircraft; most FAA actions involve airplanes. Many FAA inspectors acknowledge they know little about balloons and are anxious to learn more.
The FAA is much more likely to promote ballooning if they know more about balloons, balloon pilots, and balloon operations. Landowners, state and city officials, and local police, will be less likely to have a negative reaction to balloon activities if they know more about actual balloon operations, and training and skills of pilots.
One FAA inspector pointed out that interpretations of many aviation regulations are decreed by NTSB judges as a result of their decisions. FAA personnel are loathe to go against precedents (even if wrong) that have been proved in court. We think that balloonists should have a say about laws governing ballooning. This is not a novel idea; it’s called democracy.
If these premises are correct, and we believe they are, ballooning will benefit, and the future of ballooning may be assured, if we undertake to educate those people and agencies who have the power to constrict this pleasurable activity that is a sport to thousands, and a profession to many of us.
There are many channels we can use to educate people about ballooning— service clubs, local newspapers, chambers of commerce, libraries and schools come to mind immediately. Using the resources of Balloon Life, we plan to prepare educational material. We have communicated with national Operations and Maintenance personnel in the FAA to find out how best to present our material to local FSDOs. We will provide material to the NTSB. If you would like to have information for your local and state authorities, we need to hear from you.
We also need your ideas. We would like to know what has worked in your area and what has not. If you have any particular problems, we would like to hear about them. Please write to Balloon Education Project, P. O. Box 14763, Oakland, CA 94614.