I was working temporarily for a helicopter outfit doing rides. The owners/pilot's family made up the majority of the staff. None of the family were pilots or had any aviation background. Good group of guys though and I enjoyed my time with them but they definitely needed some ground crew training.
We were doing rides at a fair one evening, the beer was cheap and people were getting pretty sauced as the night wore on.
We were doing pretty quick rotations, 3 minutes a ride, no more than 3 or 4 minutes on the ground. I'd had a couple of passengers get on who were in questionable states but no one was falling down drunk. But as the night wore on I was really starting to notice people were getting their liquid courage on before getting into the aircraft. (Nothing to do with my flying, I promise). I raised my concern to the ground crew who unfortunately ignored me. I was just the pilot. But then a shocking thing happened. One of the older family members came out with passengers and of all things a beer in one hand. I at first thought he might be holding it for the passengers while on the ride but as I was coming up to a hover I watched him chug the beer.
I nearly blew my top. I think I actually made a rather rude statement out loud over the intercom. I was just getting into ETL so I went ahead and flew the ride, praying that one of the other crew would come out to get the passengers when we landed. Guess the big PIC in the sky wasn't listening today as here comes pops with another beer in his hand to help the passengers out of the aircraft. So I shut down the aircraft. Not a decision that was well received. Startups and shut downs cost money.
As I am shutting down the aircraft, I ask "pops" to join me for a moment and very nicely start to explain why he can't have alcohol (even just a beer) while working ground crew. He didn't seem to get it. He tried to explain that his drinking shouldn't be a problem when he wasn't getting into the aircraft.
I finally said, I am responsible for this aircraft, and the people around it. If you don't go home right now, we are shutting down the flights for the evening. Boy did I get the stinkeye.
But that's just it, we as pilots are responsible for not just the aircraft, but everything that happens in and around it.
FAR 91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command.
(a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.
Notice anything here? lets me give you a better hint "is directly responsible for, the operation of that aircraft." In the immortal words of Uncle Ben (actually I think it was the comic narrator) and with a nod to Voltaire "With great power comes great responsibility".
So the FAA has granted us the power to fly the aircraft but also the responsibility for what happens. This is the proverbial double edged sword. You can do what you want but God help you if you screw the pooch and are caught violating the Regs.
So when and where does that responsibility start and end. We know everything the pilot does has a regulation around it. Height above ground, speed limits, right of way rules, the list goes on for.....well roughly 500 pages, which is the count of the number of pages in the latest FAR/AIM I have. Each of these laws were learned through an accident, often resulting in fatalities. But it isn't just what the pilot or aircraft does. It's the passenger too.
How about that passenger that walks into the prop or tail rotor?
"The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft."
So it isn't just what happens on the aircraft in flight but its on the ground too. It’s a good bet if you didn't take all the best possible options to protect passengers or the non flying public from the operation of the aircraft, you'll be facing some serious consequences.
How about passengers in the air? Got an passenger who is carrying a prohibited substance? I know of a couple of pilots who spent time in Jail because a passenger was carrying something they shouldn't have. And even though the flight crew never knew the pilots were still found responsible.
Should the unfortunate happen a pilot's responsibility for an aircraft will be determined by whether he or she complied with the regulations applicable to the operation of the aircraft and whether the pilots actions were reasonable under the circumstances. If the pilot failed to comply with the regulations or act reasonably, the pilot likely will be held ultimately responsible.
Operating an aircraft is one of the greatest privileges a person can have. Although rules exist to ensure that aircraft are operated safely, a pilot is given a lot of discretion in how they exercises this privilege. But at the end of the day, the pilot will be held accountable. I try to approach every flight as if the FAA is watching. I know every action I take or that others around me take could require explaining to the FAA or a court what I did and why.
Prudence and good judgment with an unflinching view towards safety will keep a pilot and others safe and help protect the pilot from ending up in a situation in which the pilot is held accountable for a third-person’s injury or damage.
Discuss it here: http://cfiforums.com/node/19