Mon, Jan 10, 2022
Non-Pilot Indicted for Offering Instruction Without CFI Rating
The first prosecution of an airman operating without a certificate has been filed, with the filing of indictments for wire fraud and uncertificated airmanship.
Matthew Jones of Spanish Fork, Utah, is accused of falsely presenting himself as the owner and operator of Noctem Aviation and a Certified Flight Instructor for fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
Jones stands accused of defrauding prospective students by presenting himself through text messages and Instagram posts to be a capable and legal instructor for the purposes of obtaining funding for his daily living expenses. The indictment describes Jones establishing a contract to instruct a student in pursuit of a pilot rating, which led to the creation of a joint bank account to be used for flight training expenses. Jones is accused of stealing $9,958 from this would-be student throughout a 2-week span, paying for bills, rent, personal purchases, and cash withdrawals.
The case is a reminder for aviators and students to thoroughly vet their hired professionals before granting access to large sums of money.
The postings said to have been made advertising Noctem Aviation and Jones' services began in June 2019 on Instagram, where he appears to have solicited a student after making contact with them. Texts providing false documentation as a commercial CFI were sent soon after, and the following year saw additional falsification claiming non-commercial CFI status. It is unclear exactly how many students were acquired through these means, but only one seems to have been taken for a considerable sum. The charges for fraud and operating as an airman without the appropriate certificate could result in forfeiture of money or property belonging to Jones should he be found guilty.
More News
The Industry Continues to be Rocked By Some Questionable Operations Recent investigations and a great deal of data has resulted in ANN’s SportPlane Resource Guide’s rep>[...]
Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) An airport lighting facility providing vertical visual approach slope guidance to aircraft during approach to landing by radiating a directio>[...]
Airport Marking Aids Markings used on runway and taxiway surfaces to identify a specific runway, a runway threshold, a centerline, a hold line, etc. A runway should be marked in ac>[...]
Aero Linx: The Skyhawk Association The Skyhawk Association is a non-profit organization founded by former Skyhawk Pilots which is open to anyone with an affinity for the A-4 Skyhaw>[...]