by Gregory J. Reigel

© 2004 All rights reserved.

You are standing on ramp performing a pre-flight inspection. A man who you have never seen before approaches you and starts chatting about weather and asking you questions: “What’s your name?”, “Where are you going?” etc. How do you respond?

First, know who you are talking to. Ask for person’s name. Find out what he or she is doing there. In this post 9/11 era, knowing who is at airport and what they are doing is good practice and prevention. This is premise of AOPA’s GA Secure program. Second, if person is an FAA inspector, you want to find that out as soon as possible. If he or she is, ask to see his or her FAA Identification card.

During course of a ramp check, FAA inspector will ask to inspect/review a number of items. Some of those items and how you produce them for FAA inspector are discussed below. Quite a bit of this is common sense. Much of it is information all pilots learned, or should have learned, when they learned how to fly.

Personal Documents

When you fly an aircraft, you must have certain personal documents in your possession. You must have your airman certificate and it must be appropriate to aircraft and type of flying you are doing. You must also have your medical certificate. It must be original certificate issued by your Airman Medical Examiner and it must also be current and appropriate to type of flying you are doing. Finally, in aftermath of 9/11, you must also have in your possession a drivers license or other government issued ID containing your photograph.

Logbook

Next, inspector may ask to see your flight logbook. I advise pilots not to bring their logbook with them when they are flying. Why? Two reasons: One, if you bring your logbook with you and it is destroyed if you are in an accident, you won’t have any documentation to prove your flight time and currency. This can raise potentially ugly issues not only with FAA, but also with your insurance company if they question your currency at time of accident and deny coverage. To avoid insurance coverage issue, if you must bring your logbook with you I suggest you keep a photocopy of your logbook at home or in some other safe place. Second, if you have your logbook with you and inspector asks to review it, you will have to provide entire logbook. Rather than allowing inspector to review more logbook entries than are necessary or pertinent at time of ramp check, I prefer having opportunity after ramp check to simply photocopy pages documenting your currency and then providing them to inspector.

Aircraft Documents In The Aircraft

© 2004 Reigel & Associates, Ltd./Aero Legal Services. All rights reserved.

A client recently asked me whether he could carry a firearm on an aircraft. As usual, my lawyerly answer was “it depends”. What does it depend upon? Well, for starters, what type of firearm? Will it be carried concealed or on person (e.g. using a concealed carry weapon “CCW” permit), or will it be in checked luggage? What type of aircraft? Is it a commercial flight or a private flight? Is flight interstate or intrastate? The answers to these questions dictate whether or how you can transport a firearm on an aircraft.

Probably best way to look at issue is to determine where you will be with firearm when you board aircraft: Within a sterile area of an airport or within a non-sterile area of an airport. Several different statutes apply to transportation of firearms on aircraft, depending upon type of aircraft and aircraft operation and where you board aircraft.

Sterile Area

What is a sterile area? U.S. Statute 49 CFR 1540.5 defines it as “a portion of an airport defined in airport security program that provides passengers access to boarding aircraft and to which access generally is controlled by TSA, or by an aircraft operator under part 1544 of this chapter or a foreign air carrier under part 1546 of this chapter, through screening of persons and property.” This is area beyond security checkpoints and up to and including gates to aircraft. You have to subject yourself and your carry on luggage to search and inspection (including removing your shoes, walking through metal detectors etc.) in order to enter sterile area.

Once within a sterile area, U.S. Statute aircraft. Thus, if you have to pass through a security screening checkpoint to enter a sterile area, firearms are prohibited within sterile area and on board aircraft that you board from a sterile area.

The regulation provides exceptions for law enforcement officers (LEO’s) required to carry firearms or other weapons while in performance of law enforcement duties at airport, for individuals authorized to carry a weapon in accordance with §1544.219(LEO), §1544.221(LEO w/prisoner), §1544.223(Air Marshal), or §1546.211(foreign air carrier provision for LEO) or an individual authorized to carry a weapon in a sterile area under a security program.

Although aircraft using sterile area may be operated by an airline or an on-demand charter operator, those aircraft may also be operated by freight carriers, or in some cases, privately owned aircraft. 49 CFR §1550.5 provides a “catch-all” expanding prohibition on possession of firearms to all operations, not just airlines and charter, boarding or unloading using sterile area of an airport. Thus, regardless of type of operation, if you have to go through a sterile area to board aircraft and you do not fall within one of exceptions, you will not be able to carry a firearm with you on your person or in your carry-on luggage. Period.

However, even if you are prohibited from carrying a firearm with you onto aircraft, you may still be able to bring your firearm along in your checked luggage. U.S. Statute 49 CFR 1540.111(c) applies to transportation of firearms within your checked baggage. You may not transport loaded firearms. However, you may transport unloaded firearms provided that you declare firearms to aircraft operator (usually by filling out a declaration form), firearm is unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and you are only one to retain a key or combination for lock.

This regulation does not prohibit you from carrying ammunition in your checked baggage or in same container as a firearm. Also, each individual aircraft operator may have differing policies and guidelines regarding transportation of unloaded firearms, as well as ammunition. It is best to check with your aircraft operator well in advance of your departure date to make sure you know aircraft operator’s requirements and procedures and that you will to arrive at airport able to comply.

Non-Sterile Area

If you are within a non-sterile area of an airport, statutes and regulations do not apply. However, your ability to possess a firearm will depend upon type of flying you will be doing as well as state law applicable to airport.