Kevin Pinger v. FAA ( 2021 )


Menu:
  •                  United States Court of Appeals
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
    ____________
    No. 20-1481                                                 September Term, 2020
    NTSB-EA-5882
    Filed On: August 24, 2021
    Kevin Richard Pinger,
    Petitioner
    v.
    Federal Aviation Administration and National
    Transportation Safety Board,
    Respondents
    PETITION FOR REVIEW FROM AN ORDER OF THE
    NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
    BEFORE:       Henderson, Millett, and Walker, Circuit Judges
    JUDGMENT
    This petition for review of an order of the National Transportation Safety Board
    (“Board”) was considered on the briefs and appendix filed by the parties. See Fed. R.
    App. P. 34(a)(2); D.C. Cir. Rule 34(j). Upon consideration of the foregoing, the motion
    for leave to file an amicus brief, the response thereto, and the lodged amicus brief, it is
    ORDERED that the motion for leave to file an amicus brief be granted. The
    Clerk is directed to file the lodged brief. The court will not consider the affidavit of Evan
    Williams attached to the brief because amicus has not presented any justification for
    considering extra-record evidence. See Walter O. Boswell Mem’l Hosp. v. Heckler, 
    749 F.2d 788
    , 792 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (“If a court is to review an agency’s action fairly, it should
    have before it neither more nor less information than did the agency when it made its
    decision.”). It is
    FURTHER ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the petition for review be denied.
    The Board’s October 29, 2020 order is supported by substantial evidence, see Dickson
    v. NTSB, 
    639 F.3d 539
    , 542 (D.C. Cir. 2011), and is not arbitrary, capricious, an abuse
    of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law, see Lauterbach v. Huerta,
    
    817 F.3d 347
    , 350 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (quoting 
    5 U.S.C. § 706
    (2)(A)). The Board properly
    concluded that 
    14 C.F.R. § 43.15
    (a)(1) applies to this case because petitioner
    performed a 100-hour inspection, which was required by 
    14 C.F.R. § 91.409
    (b), and
    that petitioner’s failure to properly perform the inspection was a violation of
    United States Court of Appeals
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
    ____________
    No. 20-1481                                                September Term, 2020
    § 43.15(a)(1). Additionally, the Board properly affirmed the rulings of the Administrative
    Law Judge on the admissibility of evidence. See Throckmorton v. NTSB, 
    963 F.2d 441
    ,
    444-45 (D.C. Cir. 1992).
    Pursuant to D.C. Circuit Rule 36, this disposition will not be published. The Clerk
    is directed to withhold issuance of the mandate herein until seven days after resolution
    of any timely petition for rehearing or petition for rehearing en banc. See Fed. R. App.
    P. 41(b); D.C. Cir. Rule 41.
    Per Curiam
    FOR THE COURT:
    Mark J. Langer, Clerk
    BY:     /s/
    Daniel J. Reidy
    Deputy Clerk
    Page 2