Andrzejewski

Background

Andrzejewski started flying in 2002 when she was 18 years old. She has logged more than 1500 hours of flight time, most during aerobatic flights in air shows and competitions.

On May 22, 2006, Andrzejewski showed her new high- performance, single-seat Zivco Edge 540 aircraft to her fam- ily at the Butler County Airport in Butler, Pennsylvania. 1 14 C.F.R. § 91.303(e) provides that “[n]o person may operate an air- craft in an aerobatic flight . . . [b]elow an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface.” 15888 ANDRZEJEWSKI v. FAA Andrew Pierce, an aviation safety inspector for the Allegheny Flight Standards Office, and Christopher Hayden, the chief pilot for AirQuest Aviation, were at the Butler County Airport that day and witnessed Andrzejewski’s flight. Neither Pierce nor Hayden had experience with Edge aircraft.

Both Pierce and Hayden observed Andrzejewski’s plane departing the airport at a steep angle. They saw the plane do a “wing wag.”2 Then, the plane banked steeply before making a fast descent over the runway. After another wing wag, the plane climbed at a very high pitch before departing. Based solely on statements Pierce and Hayden submitted to…