Jerry Wayne GILBERT, Petitioner, v. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD; Federal Aviation Administration, Respondents

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily suspended Jerry Wayne Gilbert’s pilot’s license for safety violations. In this petition for 1’eview, Gilbert argues the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB or Board) acted arbitrarily and capriciously by dismissing his appeal to the full Board because he did not file a timely brief or a timely request for an extension of time in which to file the brief. Gilbert also contends he was denied due process by the procedures used by the FAA and the NTSB to suspend his license.

We have jurisdiction under 49 U.S.C. § 1153 (a), and we deny review. We hold the NTSB did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in strictly applying its time deadlines for the filing of Gilbert’s brief and for filing a request for an extension of time. We also hold that even though Gilbert did not present his constitutional claims to the NTSB, we have jurisdiction to consider those claims, and we reject them on the merits.

FACTS

The FAA mailed Gilbert, a commercial pilot, a “notice of proposed certificate action,” which alleged Gilbert had violated certain safety regulations. Specifically, the notice alleged Gilbert had operated an aircraft in a careless…