United States v. Donald I. Christensen

This is an appeal by the United States, plaintiff in the court below, from an order and judgment of dismissal with prejudice of an action brought to recover civil penalties pursuant to the Federal Aviation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 1471 . The district court had jurisdiction under 49 U.S.C. 1487 and 28 U.S.C. § 1845 . Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

The complaint upon which the action was based alleged that the defendant, an employee of the Federal Aviation Agency and a holder of an airline transport pilot certificate, while piloting an aircraft on an official F.A.A. flight, failed, in the absence of any emergency, to follow flight plan clearance instructions of the Air Traffic Control, and, while deviating from such clearance, failed to follow further instructions of the Air Traffic Control, in violation of Federal Aviation Regulations, 14 C.F.R. § 91.75 (a) and (b).

The defendant filed a motion to dismiss, predicated on the theory that as a federal employee he was engaged in the operation of a public aircraft as that term is defined in the Federal Aviation Act, and that because the aircraft was a public aircraft, it was not subject to regulation by the F.A.A. Therefore,…