…Judge Finds FAA Acted Without Proof…

In New York, four A&Ps who worked for Air East Airways can go back to work after an NTSB Administrative Law Judge overturned emergency orders suspending the tickets of the mechanics, three of whom were the sons of Air East Airways owner Michael Tarascio. In a news release, their lawyer, Gregory Winton, said the judge dismissed the revocation orders for “failure of proof” but he also said testimony indicated the FAA had it in for the company. In the release, Winton said that FAA officials had testified under oath that the Tarascios were victims of an FAA “witch hunt” and that they were told to deal with family “differently.” In an earlier case, Winton successfully defended the elder Tarascio against an emergency revocation of both his ATP and A&P certificates. In that case, the NTSB upheld the FAA sanctions but Winton took the case to court. The judge found the case against the elder Tarascio “was not substantially justified in law or in fact,” according to Winton’s press release. He said the prosecutions have been a violation of his clients’ constitutional rights and a waste of time, money and effort by the government agencies involved.