"The current thinking is that Denver's medical certificate was valid because we didn't follow up on revoking it," a source inside the FAA has told the Flyer.
Within a couple of days of Denver's fatal crash Oct. 12, agency officials said he was flying with a medical certificate that had been revoked. The FAA may soon concede, however, that Denver was flying legally because he did not voluntarily surrender his medical.
"Short of an emergency revocation, the pilot always has due process to challenge the surrender request and a formal revocation if one comes," said the source, who
requested anonymity.
"In this case, no formal official action followed. He was still legal when he flew and he most likely knew it. So do we."
The FAA asked Denver for his medical certificate after he was arrested a second time for operating an automobile while intoxicated. The first charge was resolved with Denver's plea of no contest to a lesser charge.
The outcome of the second charge had not been resolved. A trial ended with a hung jury, and a new trial was scheduled for early next year.
The significance of whether the fatal flight was legal or illegal is not a moot point. Denver's flying status could affect challenges to life insurance claims or liability suits.
If Denver had flown his Long-EZ after the FAA revoked his pilot's certificate or suspended his medical, standard exclusions would allow insurance companies to deny claims arising from the accident, such as claims against life insurance, aircraft hull or liability policies.
Denver's flying status may also factor into any liability suits against the builder of the Long-EZ. With a pro forma finding that Denver was flying legally, those claims would be harder to challenge.
Failure to follow through on revoking Denver's medical isn't likely to enhance the FAA's efforts to show that it's a responsive and nimble bureaucracy. The FAA letter asking Denver to surrender his medical was sent last year.
The status of Denver's medical certificate is less significant to the NTSB investigation. As reported in the Nov. 14 Flyer, NTSB investigator George Petterson
said he believes Denver may have suffered a loss of control that started the Long-EZ into a swift descent into California's Monterey Bay.
Factors that may have contributed were the position of the fuel-selector switch, the location of fuel-sight gauges in the back seat, and signs that Denver had only a few gallons of fuel aboard when he took off to log time in his newly purchased airplane.
NTSB officials have denied a report by KRON-TV in San Francisco that Denver simply ran out of fuel. A news director at the television station admitted a reporter
oversimplified information taken from the Flyer's Web site.