Lowell G. Ferguson v. National Transportation Safety Board and Longhorne M. Bond, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration

Lowell G. Ferguson appeals the decision of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to suspend his Airline Transport Pilot Certificate for 60 days for violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Ferguson, the pilot-in-command of Western Airlines Flight 44, landed his aircraft without clearance at Buffalo, Wyoming, rather than at the scheduled stop at Sheridan, Wyoming. The NTSB adopted as its own the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) affirming the order of suspen sion issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Ferguson now requests this court to vacate and set aside the order of the AU and the NTSB, or, in the alternative, to remand for further proceedings. Ferguson asserts an affirmative defense under the FAA/NASA Aviation Safety Reporting Program (ASRP Advisory Circular 00-46B), contending: (1) he was entitled to a waiver of punishment because his actions were “inadvertent and not deliberate;” (2) his conduct was not reckless within the meaning of Federal Aviation Regulation § 91.9 ( 14 C.F.R. § 91.9 ). Jurisdiction in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is predicated upon 49 U.S.C. § 1486 (Federal…