Appeals court throws out case from pilot with drunken driving arrest

{mosads}He claimed that a button that allowed him to mark “no” for all responses on the computer application made it easy to ignore the questions.

The court’s decision threw out that argument. It builds on previous court rulings that found that “an intentional failure to carefully read the questions before submitting answers” is, for the purpose of federal rules, not an acceptable excuse for not telling the truth.

“Although this case would not otherwise warrant a published disposition, the number of similar cases that have recently come before this court convince us of the need to provide clear guidance to applicants for FAA medical certificates,” Chief Judge Merrick Garland wrote in the court’s opinion.

The FAA found out about Taylor’s arrest in September 2011, and revoked his license soon after. He appealed, charging that the certifications had been taken away without due process.

Before reaching the appeals court, a National Transportation Safety Board judge also agreed that the FAA had acted appropriately.