David Glenn Bettencourt 

Attorney at Law- Hawai'i Bar No. 970 

Suite 304 Dillingham Transportation Building • 735 Bishop Street • Hnnolulu, Hawai'i 96813 

Telephone: (808) 521-3491 Fax: (808) 521-3494 E-mail: airlaw@pixi.com 

30 October 2014 

Federal Aviation Administration (Original+ 1 copy) 

800 Independence Avenue SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

Attention: Hearing DocketGerk, AGC-430 

Wilbur Wright Building- Suite 2W1000 

RECEIVED 

NOV -i::201~ 

HEARING DOCKET 

The Honorable Richard C. Goodwin, Administrative Law Judge (1 copy) 

Office of Hearings, M-20 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. (Ell-310) 

Washington, DC 20590 

Mr. Robert Spitzer, Complainant's Counsel 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Office of Regional Counsel- ANM-7 

Northwest Mountain Region 

1601 Lind Avenue, SW 

Renton, Washington 98057 

Aloha: 

Re: In Re Offshore Flight School, Inc., 

FAA Docket No. 2014WP910016 

DMS No. FAA-2014-0691 

(1 copy) 

Enclosed is a copy of Respondent Offshore Flight School, Inc.'s Answer to Complaint. I expect 

to be engaged in a historical aircraft recovery project in Viet Nam during the last half of 

December 2014 and the first two weeks of 2015. 

DB:skyc 

enclosures 

cc: Mr. Tomoyuki Yoshizawa, President 

Offshore Flight School, Inc. 

U

ha'aha'a, 

/ ·U;/ w · lenn Betten~ 
OR\G\NAL 

DAVID GLENN BETTENCOURT 

Attorney at Law- Hawai'i Bar No. 970 

Suite 304 Dillingham Transportation Bldg. 

735 Bishop Street, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813 

Telephone: (808) 521-3491 

Facsimile: (808) 521-3494 

Email: airlaw@pixi.com 

Attorney for OFFSHORE 

FLIGHT SCHOOL, INC. 

RECE\VED 

NOV - 6 2{1\~ 

HEARING DOCKET 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF HEARING 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

In the Matter of: ) FAA Docket No. 2014WP910016 

) 

OFFSHORE FLIGHT SCHOOL, ) DMS No. FAA-2014-0691 

INC. ) 

) Judge Richard C. Goodwin 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

OFFSHORE FLIGHT SCHOOL INC.'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 

COMES NOW OFFSHORE FLIGHT SCHOOL, INC., of Honolulu 

International Airport, Honolulu, Hawai'i, by and through its legal counsel 

David Glenn Bettencourt, and hereby answers the F.A.A. Complaint filed 

by the F.A.A. on 10 October 2014, as follows: 

I 
Respondent OFFSHORE FLIGHT SCHOOL, INC., ("OFFSHORE") 

admits the allegations contained in Section I,<[ 1 of the F.A.A. Complaint, 

but denies that the Federal Aviation Administration has established a 

constitutionally-compliant and lawful system and/ or program for 

imposition of civil penalties, in that the Administrator has consistently and 

continually engaged in arbitrary, capricious or otherwise unlawful 

conduct. 

II 

1. OFFSHORE admits Section II,<[ 1 of the F.A.A. Complaint that 

it is the holder of Letter of Authorization 363JWP13, but Respondent states 

that the remainder of the allegations in this paragraph are not allegations of 

fact by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and admission or 

denial, but are otherwise denied. 

2. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, <[ 2 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not allegations of fact 

by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and admission or 

denial, but are otherwise denied. 

3. OFFSHORE responds to Section II,<[ 3 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting that it operated the aircrafts described in <[<[ 3)(a) through 

3(d), but Respondent states that the remainder of the allegations in this 

paragraph are not allegations of fact by rather are conclusions of law that 

do not require and admission or denial, but are otherwise denied. 

4. OFFSHORE responds to Section II,<[ 4 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting the allegations. 

5. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, <[ 5 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting the allegations. 

6. OFFSHORE responds to Section II,<[ 6 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting the allegations. 

2 
7. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 7 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting the allegations. 

8. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 8 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting the allegations. 

9. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 9 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by admitting the allegations. 

10. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, C[ 10 of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by admitting the allegations. 

11. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 11 of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by admitting the allegations, but additionally clarifies that it 

was in receipt of reliable evidence that Mr. Prescott Eugene Wilkie was on 

an approved drug testing program and had in fact tested negative. 

12. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 12 of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by admitting the allegations. 

13. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 13 of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not 

allegations of fact by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and 

admission or denial, but are otherwise denied. 

14. OFFSHORE responds to Section II, Cj[ 14 of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not 

allegations of fact by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and 

admission or denial, but are otherwise denied. 

III 

1. OFFSHORE responds to Section III, Cj[ 1(a) of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not 

allegations of fact by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and 

admission or denial, but are otherwise denied. OFFSHORE denies that the 

Federal Aviation Administration has established a constitutionally 

3 
compliant and lawful system and/ or program for imposition of civil 

penalties, in that the Administrator has consistently and continually 

engaged in arbitrary, capricious or otherwise unlawful conduct. 

2. OFFSHORE responds to Section III, 'li l(b) of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not 

allegations of fact by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and 

admission or denial, but are otherwise denied. OFFSHORE denies that the 

Federal Aviation Administration has established a constitutionally 

compliant and lawful system and/ or program for imposition of civil 

penalties, in that the Administrator has consistently and continually 

engaged in arbitrary, capricious or otherwise unlawful conduct. 

3. OFFSHORE responds to Section III, 'li l(c) of the F.A.A. 

Complaint by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not 

allegations of fact by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and 

admission or denial, but are otherwise denied. OFFSHORE denies that the 

Federal Aviation Administration has established a constitutionally 

compliant and lawful system and/ or program for imposition of civil 

penalties, in that the Administrator has consistently and continually 

engaged in arbitrary, capricious or otherwise unlawful conduct. 

4. OFFSHORE responds to Section III, 'li 2 of the F.A.A. Complaint 

by stating that the allegations in this paragraph are not allegations of fact 

by rather are conclusions of law that do not require and admission or 

denial, but are otherwise denied. OFFSHORE denies that the Federal 

Aviation Administration has established a constitutionally compliant and 

lawful system and/ or program for imposition of civil penalties, in that the 

Administrator has consistently and continually engaged in arbitrary, 

capricious or otherwise unlawful conduct. 

4 
AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 

FIRST AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

OFFSHORE has operated for several years and has always operated 

in compliance with F.A.A. requirements and has incurred losses in each 

year it has operated due to compliance with F.A.A. requirements. 

SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

OFFSHORE had at all times relevant implemented an approved 

drug/ alcohol testing and education program restricted to its pilots, and has 

now expanded and reorganized that program to insure comply with all 

F.A.A. requirements by retaining the services of Aircraft Safety & 

Compliance Services, Inc. 

THIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

OFFSHORE logically and reasonably believed that it was operating 

in accordance with all F.A.A. requirements. 

FOURTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

F.A.A. has adopted policies, procedures and rules that discriminate 

against OFFSHORE in favor of those individual pilots or entities in Hawaii 

who have avoided all F.A.A. alcohol or drug testing F.A.A. requirements 

by operating illegally without seeking from the F.A.A. any Letters of 

Authorization or other F.A.A. operational certificates, but the FAA has 

knowingly failed to impose any civil penalties for alcohol/ drug violations, 

but instead has imposed (if anything) minimal civil penalty or certificate 

sanctions widely divergent from the sanction it seeks from OFFSHORE. 

FIFTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

OFFSHORE incurred a loss of approximately $29,000.00 in its most 

recent tax year, has never generated a profit, and the sanction sought, when 

considered in light of the sanctions imposed by the F.A.A. for other far 

5 
more serious or extensive violations, is excessive, arbitrary, capricious and 

unlawful 

SIXTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

Any penalty would violate the due process clause of the United 

States Constitution, the F.A.A. statutory authority to impose sanctions, and 

administrative and rule-making requirements. 

WHEREFORE, Respondent OFFSHORE prays that the Complaint be 

dismissed. 

DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, 30 October 2014. 

AVID GLENN BETTENCOURT 

Attorney for OFFSHORE FLIGHT 

SCHOOL, INC. 

6 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE LIST-U.S. MAIL 

The undersigned hereby certifies that on the date set forth below, 

the foregoing documents were duly served by First Class U.S. Mail 

addressed as set forth below: 

Federal Aviation Administration (Original+ 1 copy) 

800 Independence A venue SW 

Washington, DC 20591 

Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430 

Wilbur Wright Building- Suite 2W1000 

The Honorable Richard C. Goodwin, Administrative Law Judge (1 copy) 

Office of Hearings, M-20 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. (Ell-310) 

Washington, DC 20590 

Mr. Robert Spitzer, Complainant's Counsel 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Office of Regional Counsel- ANM-7 

Northwest Mountain Region 

1601 Lind A venue, SW 

Renton, Washington 98057 

(1 copy) 

DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, 30 ~ctobe~ 20)4. A ~ 

/)4./l~ DAVID GLENN BETTENCOURT 

Attorney for OFFSHORE FLIGHT 

SCHOOL, INC.