This has nothing to do with coaches, however another POG member I was speaking to encouraged me to post it for the aviators among us, I will try to keep it short. As a result of the Challenger 600 that overran the runway in Teterboro a couple years ago the FAA is investigating the operation and ownership of planes in single purpose entities and who has "Operational Control”. Apparently they had difficulty in ascertaining that info in this incident . Anyway I recently chartered an aircraft for a demo flight. When I arrived and began to load baggage the FAA poured out of the FBO (5 agents)took me aside and interrogated me about the nature of the flight whether " any money changed hands" and if I was certificated ( apparently they knew I owned and flew an aircraft) The agent went on to tell me that ”what I said could affect my ticket”, I pointed out I was merely a passenger. He advised that if it is not part 135 and it is determined not to be a demo flight under part 91, I could be construed as the operator (presuming a lease arrangement or I was paying more than my pro rata).As such I have operational control and any sanctions could include me whether I was PIC or not. The interrogation went on for around 20 minutes and included some more veiled threats and then they wanted me to sign a statement (which I refused) I went online and did some digging and found an AOPA article from August 2007( Pilots Counsel) which describes this scenario. Because of the scrutiny at our local airfield I was asked to sign a dry lease for another aircraft I occasionally use. For liability reasons I asked an aviation attorney to set up a single purpose entity to be the Lessee.
She told me under part 91 it is illegal to own or lease a plane in a single purpose entity (which many of us do for liability reasons) solely for the purpose of owning the plane for personal use. It can however be held in an entity where it can be shown that the aircraft use is incidental to the primary business of that entity. Or the ownership entity can lease the plane to an entity that meets the same criteria (a dry lease) Of course if the plane is in an individuals name it is ok. This is one opinion which I am trying to confirm independently. I am told these ramp checks are going to become more commonplace and will include questions concerning ownership. Thought I should pass this along.