Ntsb

MEMORANDUM

Eitan Leaschauer petitions pro se for review of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (“NTSB”) final order suspending Leaschauer’s private pilot certificate pending reexamination. We have jurisdiction under 49 U.S.C. § 1153 . We review the NTSB’s final order under the arbitrary and capricious standard. Gilbert v. NTSB, 80 F.3d 364, 368 (9th Cir. 1996). We deny the petition for review.

The NTSB’s determination that a reasonable basis existed for the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) to request reexamination of Leaschauer was not arbitrary or capricious because substantial evidence supported the NTSB’s finding that Leaschauer took off without prior clearance. See Arrington v. Daniels, 516 F.3d 1106, 1112 (9th Cir. 2008) (arbitrary and capricious standard requires agency to base decision on consideration of relevant factors and avoid clear error); 49 U.S.C. § 1153 (b)(3) (“Findings of fact by the Board, if supported by substantial evidence, are conclusive.”); 49 U.S.C. § 44709 (empowering FAA to reexamine certificate holders).

The NTSB’s determination that the chief administrative law judge (“ALJ”) did not err by denying Leaschauer’s motion to disqualify the…