When the NTSB enters an order against a certificate holder, that order will have a date upon which the order will take effect (the “effective date”). In the case of a suspension, the effective date would be the date upon which the suspension begins.
If the certificate holder is unhappy with the NTSB’s order, the certificate holder has the right to appeal that order to the United States Court of Appeals. However, processing such an appeal will take up to, and often more than, a year. In the meantime, the NTSB order will take effect on its effective date unless the certificate holder requests a “stay” of the order.
In order to obtain a “stay” of the order, 49 C.F.R. 821.64(b) requires the certificate holder request the stay before the effective date of the NTSB order. If the “stay” is not requested in time, the request will be denied, as it was in the recent case of Administrator v. Turmero.
In Turmero, the Board received the mechanic’s request for a “stay” two days after the effective date of the order affirming a 90-day suspension of airman’s airframe and powerplant certificate, with inspection authorization. Without any discussion, the Board rejected the request for a stay.
As with other timing requirements for filing documents with the Board, failure to comply almost always results in bad consequences for the certificate holder. In this case, the suspension of the mechanic’s certificate will have run long before the mechanic’s appeal is heard by the Court. Unfortunately, that removes most of the incentive for continuing with an appeal.
