Investigations
Florida Pilot Convicted for Operating a Commercial Airplane With a Revoked Airman’s Certificate
On July 13, 2021, Eduardo Aching was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for operating an airplane in a commercial capacity with a revoked airman’s certificate. Aching was indicted on May 20, 2021. According to a criminal complaint filed on May 7, 2021, FAA suspended Aching’s medical certificate for failing to report a driving under the influence arrest. However, Aching allegedly continued flying airplanes on at least 10 different occasions with the suspended medical certificate. The complaint further alleged that after surrendering the medical certificate to FAA, Aching presented an altered certificate to an FAA inspector. Consequently, FAA revoked Aching’s commercial airman’s certificate, but he continued operating airplanes as a “for hire” pilot and was later arrested by local police for failing to present pilot documents when requested. Following the arrest, Aching again operated an airplane on a commercial flight.