Bill, I'm not pissed or anything, I just think the public needs to know and action needs to be taken in the interest of safety.Not everyone reads this forum, or others, or is seasoned enough to get the "word of mouth". A new pilot, new aircraft owner, that is new to aviation has no knowledge of these things and will usually look to public or govt. agencies to get info, i.e. BBB, FAA for instance. The items you mention on your annual were blatant pencil-whipping! A "coffee shop" annual.Perhaps the shop is a good one, they may have just hired a sleazy IA to sign off their annual jobs.Maybe the IA was buddies with the previous owner helping him get max profit on his sale... wouldn't you have reduced the price or demanded the items be fixed?
Even if the shop fires the IA, he can ply his trade elsewhere. Almost all the ad's for GA mechanics want one with an IA, or very much prefer them to have it.
Yes, the word does get out there, but that's a slow way to shut down a shop, or keep someone else from getting "taken".
I would rather use a shop that had a unfounded claim against them than a "dirty" one that noone bothered to report.I'm sure everyone on this form knows of some shady shop in their area that has operated for years, usually at minimun legal standards.
I've worked on heavy jets for over 15 years, and if you saw some of the idiots I work with that are retained because of the union, you would never get on a commercial flight. Sometimes I wish the FAA would do MORE to weed out these people- but they seem mostly concerned with paperwork errors and record keeping ( BUREAUCRATS!)They only get heavily involved when the incident makes it on the 6 o'clock news.
I have never been investigated, or have had to ASAP, although I know how easy it is to have the spotlight turned on you.I have been working many, many times when the FAA was on premesis but you just have to accept the fact that there here to help you...
-Brian
