UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF HEARINGS 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

IN THE MATTER OF 

PATHFINDER AVIATION, INC 

FAA DOCKET NO. [TO BE ASSIGNED] 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS NO. FAA-2012-0028 

RECEIVED 

MAY 2 2 2012 

HEAR~NG DOCKET 

COMPLAINANT'S MOTION TO DEEM CERTAIN FACTS ADMITTED AND FOR A 

DECISION REGARDING THE VIOLATION 

The Complainant, pursuant to § § .13 .209( e) 1 and 13 .218 of the Rules of Practice in FAA 

Civil Penalty Actions, 14 C.F.R. Part 13, Subpart G, moves for an order deeming admitted 

paragraph No.6 in Section II of the complaint. Further, pursuant to§ 13.218(f)(Si of the Rules ' ' .. 

: ' ,_, _. ~ r . I . . , _ . : : 

of Practice, the Complainan~ moves for a decision finding that Respondent violated§ 135.415(d) 

of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) as alleged in the complaint. The bases for these 

motions are (1) that the Respondent did not specifically deny the allegation in paragraph No.6 

that it did not report the failure to the FAA offices in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, within the 

1 Section 13.209(e) provides in part, "Specific denial of allegations required. A person filing an answer shall admit, 

deny, or state that the person is withoutsufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny, each numbered 

paragraph of the complaint. Any statement or allegation contained in the complaint that is not specifically denied in 

the answer may be deemed an admission of the truth of that allegation." 2 Section 13.218(t)(5) provides in part, 

Motion/or decision. A party may make a motion for decision, regarding all or any part of the proceedings, 

at any time before the administrative Jaw judge has issued an initial decision in the proceedings. The 

administrative law judge shall grant a party's motion for decision if the pleadings, depositions, answers to 

interrogatories, admissions, matters that the administrative laws judge has official1y noticed, or evidence 

introduced during the hearing show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the party making 

the motion is entitled to a decision as a matter of law. 

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specified time, and (2) that the facts admitted by Respondent in its answer and the deemed 

admission to paragraph No. 6 establish the violation alleged in the complaint.3 

Section 135.415(a) of the FAR requires each certificate holder to report the occurrence or 

detection of each failure, malfunction, or defect in an aircraft concerning, among other things, 

aircraft components or systems that result in taking emergency action during flight. Subsection 

(d) specifically requires each certificate holder to submit each such report covering a 24-hour 

period to the FAA offices in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, within 96 hours. In its answer 

Respondent admits it is a certificate holder that conducts operations under part 13 5 of the FAR, 

that one of the aircraft it is authorized to operate under part 13 5 of the FAR, that the number 3 

segment of the tail rotor drive shaft failed at the bonded adapter while the aircraft was run-up 

with the intention of repositioning it, that this failure constituted the failure of an aircraft 

component or system that resulted in the taking of emergency action during flight. The only fact 

not specifically admitted is the allegation in paragraph No. 6 that the required report was not 

timely submitted. 

Under the facts and circumstances of this case, Respondent's failure to specifically deny the 

allegation in paragraph No.6 should be deemed an admission of it. What the Respondent does 

say with respect to this allegation is that both the company's principal operations inspector and 

the National Transportation Safety Board were notified within an hour, and it cites as mitigation 

the fact it had terminated its previous director of maintenance and was awaiting the arrival of his 

replacement. This response amounts to a tacit admission that, in fact, the required report was not 

submitted to the office specified in the regulation. 

3 Ifthese motions are granted, the only remaining issue will be the amount of the civil penalty. 

2 
Based on the admissions in its answer and the deemed admission to paragraph No. 6, there 

are no material facts in dispute, and based on these undisputed facts the Complainant is entitled 

to a decision finding that Respondent violated§ l35.415(d) as alleged in the complaint as a 

matter of law. 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 161

h day of May 2012. 

HOWARD L. MARTIN, JR. 

Regional Counsel 

~(:2, 

By:~/JL_~--':':'-'1:).,___~"'==---­ Glenn H. Brown 

Senior Attorney 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

Re: Pathfinder Aviation, Inc. 

FAA Docket No. [To be assigned] 

FDMS NO. FAA-2012-0028 

I hereby certify that on this date I served a copy of the COMPLAINANT'S MOTION TO 

DEEM CERTAIN FACTS ADMITTED AND FOR A DECISION REGARDING THE 

VIOLATION by placing it in the United States Mail, postage-prepaid, certified mail, return 

receipt requested, addressed as follows: 

The Honorable Richard C. Goodwin 

Office of Hearings, M-20; 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

Michael W. Fell, President 

Pathfinder Aviation, Inc., Respondent 

P.O. Box 375 

Homer, AK 99603 

I further certify that on this date I have served the original and one copy of the 

COMPLAINANT'S MOTION TO DEEM CERTAIN FACTS ADMITTED AND FOR A 

DECISION REGARDING THE VIOLATION by postage-prepaid, certified mail, return 

receipt requested, addressed as follows: 

Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Washington, DC 20591 

Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430 

Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2W1 000 

DATED: 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Office of Regional Counsel 

222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14,AAL-7 

Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7587 

J 

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