Narrative:

The danger of this situation was in the position that I allowed myself, the PIC, to be placed in. I will explain below, but the bottom line was I let myself be put in a position where a businessman/pilot was trying to dictate the key decisions in the flight. Narrative: I was asked to pick up an airplane in saudi arabia, an old HS125. My family thought that it was not acceptable under the current climate, so I declined. The businessman/pilot told me the airplane would be moved to dubai. At the last min, I was called and asked to head for istanbul. I was told that at this late date I would have to purchase the ticket myself because of security regulations (only the person traveling can pay for the ticket on the same day). I arrived in istanbul to find the airplane was in riyadh, saudi arabia. I learned from businessman/pilot that was selling the aircraft that he was bound and determined to get that aircraft to the united states and he was the one making the decisions. I was in a fix at this point since, as an unemployed pilot, I could either do the best I could to influence the outcome or go home to the tune of a $3000 loss. It was not much of a choice. We eventually ended up in saudi and found that the aircraft that businessman/pilot had claimed was in such great shape had actually been sitting in the desert for a year. Supposedly, we were legal to fly, but I was totally dependent on businessman/pilot for all the information since there was no one else to consult on the aircraft's history. We had many disagreements along the way, such as the need for a trained first officer, when and how we were going to repair components that failed during the trip, and even if we were going to carry a raft when we crossed the atlantic. The autoplt worked marginally enough that I lost that argument. Don't even bother about the intercom. But on the itt (inter-stage turbine temperature) gauge and the boost pump I won. I didn't even have to try about the windshield since he was up front when it delaminated and the first layer completely let go. The other problem I had with him was his refusal to stay away from the flight deck. If he had something that he wanted to communicate to us or there was a question he had he would tend to barge right in. When I would tell him that I had my hands full (between handling the abnormal for a failed boost pump, determining the problem with an itt gauge, having a 1200 hour saudi first officer using a marginal autoplt, not having an intercom, having this guy trying to force feed us donuts, and german controller asking us what's the matter every time the first officer got off the centerline) he would get mad and holler something back at us, giving us one more thing to worry about. During this episode my attention was distracted and the first officer drifted off heading once to the left and once to the right. He gave us direct frankfort and then a heading. Of course we were going through some build-ups and the altitude wandered a few hundred feet in the turns. I told the first officer to fly it by hand if the autoplt wasn't doing the job and then finally I just took control of the aircraft and hand flew it for the remainder of the flight. The controller also asked us to contact someone on 124.0835, I believe. We quizzed him on his frequency because our radios would not do it. We asked him again about the '0835' thinking that he was mistaken and he reiterated. Finally we told him we were unable and he descended us to FL240 and turned us over to another controller. We double-checked our radios and they were in fact .833 spacing. (Garmin 430's) to this day, we could not find out what he was looking for. Another situation came up on our first leg between saudi arabia and london. Businessman/pilot kept encouraging us to stretch the first leg so that we would only have to stop once. A non-rvsm airplane kept down to FL280 sucks a lot of fuel and doesn't go very fast. Rather than argue, I just continued on our plan. With the tailwinds lighter than forecast, I didn't have to argue with him again over flight planning limitations. The final straw was in london after changing to a more experienced first officer, the businessman/pilot, who previously had said he would make arrangements for a raft said he couldn't find one. While he was playing golf the morning of our departure date I located a survival system for 6 in a london suburb for 1200 pounds. Well, he wasn't going to buy one. The first officer came to my rescue at this point and suggested we stay until we found one. Knowing that it was a deal breaker, the businessman/pilot made a few phone calls and low and behold we made our departure slot uneventfully. He remained restrained during the crossing and everything went uneventfully. Needless to say, there are a lot of lessons I wish I had known before I left. The question is, now that I know the answers how do I pass them on to the next pilots that are going to get asked to move aircraft for guys like this? Maybe there should be some guidelines for moving aircraft from overseas. An experienced businessman can come out on top in this kind of situation 9 times out of 10. And that is 9 times too many.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: THE HARROWING TALE OF A H25A FERRY PLT ATTEMPTING TO FLY AN UNAIRWORTHY ACFT FROM OERK TO LONDON WITH AN INTRANSIGENT ACFT EXPORTER, IMPORTER TRYING TO DICTATE THE CONDITIONS OF THE FERRY FLT TO THE UNITED STATES.

Narrative: THE DANGER OF THIS SIT WAS IN THE POS THAT I ALLOWED MYSELF, THE PIC, TO BE PLACED IN. I WILL EXPLAIN BELOW, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE WAS I LET MYSELF BE PUT IN A POS WHERE A BUSINESSMAN/PLT WAS TRYING TO DICTATE THE KEY DECISIONS IN THE FLT. NARRATIVE: I WAS ASKED TO PICK UP AN AIRPLANE IN SAUDI ARABIA, AN OLD HS125. MY FAMILY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE UNDER THE CURRENT CLIMATE, SO I DECLINED. THE BUSINESSMAN/PLT TOLD ME THE AIRPLANE WOULD BE MOVED TO DUBAI. AT THE LAST MIN, I WAS CALLED AND ASKED TO HEAD FOR ISTANBUL. I WAS TOLD THAT AT THIS LATE DATE I WOULD HAVE TO PURCHASE THE TICKET MYSELF BECAUSE OF SECURITY REGS (ONLY THE PERSON TRAVELING CAN PAY FOR THE TICKET ON THE SAME DAY). I ARRIVED IN ISTANBUL TO FIND THE AIRPLANE WAS IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA. I LEARNED FROM BUSINESSMAN/PLT THAT WAS SELLING THE ACFT THAT HE WAS BOUND AND DETERMINED TO GET THAT ACFT TO THE UNITED STATES AND HE WAS THE ONE MAKING THE DECISIONS. I WAS IN A FIX AT THIS POINT SINCE, AS AN UNEMPLOYED PLT, I COULD EITHER DO THE BEST I COULD TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OR GO HOME TO THE TUNE OF A $3000 LOSS. IT WAS NOT MUCH OF A CHOICE. WE EVENTUALLY ENDED UP IN SAUDI AND FOUND THAT THE ACFT THAT BUSINESSMAN/PLT HAD CLAIMED WAS IN SUCH GREAT SHAPE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN SITTING IN THE DESERT FOR A YEAR. SUPPOSEDLY, WE WERE LEGAL TO FLY, BUT I WAS TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON BUSINESSMAN/PLT FOR ALL THE INFO SINCE THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE TO CONSULT ON THE ACFT'S HISTORY. WE HAD MANY DISAGREEMENTS ALONG THE WAY, SUCH AS THE NEED FOR A TRAINED FO, WHEN AND HOW WE WERE GOING TO REPAIR COMPONENTS THAT FAILED DURING THE TRIP, AND EVEN IF WE WERE GOING TO CARRY A RAFT WHEN WE CROSSED THE ATLANTIC. THE AUTOPLT WORKED MARGINALLY ENOUGH THAT I LOST THAT ARGUMENT. DON'T EVEN BOTHER ABOUT THE INTERCOM. BUT ON THE ITT (INTER-STAGE TURBINE TEMP) GAUGE AND THE BOOST PUMP I WON. I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO TRY ABOUT THE WINDSHIELD SINCE HE WAS UP FRONT WHEN IT DELAMINATED AND THE FIRST LAYER COMPLETELY LET GO. THE OTHER PROB I HAD WITH HIM WAS HIS REFUSAL TO STAY AWAY FROM THE FLT DECK. IF HE HAD SOMETHING THAT HE WANTED TO COMMUNICATE TO US OR THERE WAS A QUESTION HE HAD HE WOULD TEND TO BARGE RIGHT IN. WHEN I WOULD TELL HIM THAT I HAD MY HANDS FULL (BTWN HANDLING THE ABNORMAL FOR A FAILED BOOST PUMP, DETERMINING THE PROB WITH AN ITT GAUGE, HAVING A 1200 HR SAUDI FO USING A MARGINAL AUTOPLT, NOT HAVING AN INTERCOM, HAVING THIS GUY TRYING TO FORCE FEED US DONUTS, AND GERMAN CTLR ASKING US WHAT'S THE MATTER EVERY TIME THE FO GOT OFF THE CTRLINE) HE WOULD GET MAD AND HOLLER SOMETHING BACK AT US, GIVING US ONE MORE THING TO WORRY ABOUT. DURING THIS EPISODE MY ATTN WAS DISTRACTED AND THE FO DRIFTED OFF HEADING ONCE TO THE L AND ONCE TO THE R. HE GAVE US DIRECT FRANKFORT AND THEN A HEADING. OF COURSE WE WERE GOING THROUGH SOME BUILD-UPS AND THE ALT WANDERED A FEW HUNDRED FEET IN THE TURNS. I TOLD THE FO TO FLY IT BY HAND IF THE AUTOPLT WASN'T DOING THE JOB AND THEN FINALLY I JUST TOOK CTL OF THE ACFT AND HAND FLEW IT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT. THE CTLR ALSO ASKED US TO CONTACT SOMEONE ON 124.0835, I BELIEVE. WE QUIZZED HIM ON HIS FREQ BECAUSE OUR RADIOS WOULD NOT DO IT. WE ASKED HIM AGAIN ABOUT THE '0835' THINKING THAT HE WAS MISTAKEN AND HE REITERATED. FINALLY WE TOLD HIM WE WERE UNABLE AND HE DSNDED US TO FL240 AND TURNED US OVER TO ANOTHER CTLR. WE DOUBLE-CHKED OUR RADIOS AND THEY WERE IN FACT .833 SPACING. (GARMIN 430'S) TO THIS DAY, WE COULD NOT FIND OUT WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR. ANOTHER SIT CAME UP ON OUR FIRST LEG BTWN SAUDI ARABIA AND LONDON. BUSINESSMAN/PLT KEPT ENCOURAGING US TO STRETCH THE FIRST LEG SO THAT WE WOULD ONLY HAVE TO STOP ONCE. A NON-RVSM AIRPLANE KEPT DOWN TO FL280 SUCKS A LOT OF FUEL AND DOESN'T GO VERY FAST. RATHER THAN ARGUE, I JUST CONTINUED ON OUR PLAN. WITH THE TAILWINDS LIGHTER THAN FORECAST, I DIDN'T HAVE TO ARGUE WITH HIM AGAIN OVER FLT PLANNING LIMITATIONS. THE FINAL STRAW WAS IN LONDON AFTER CHANGING TO A MORE EXPERIENCED FO, THE BUSINESSMAN/PLT, WHO PREVIOUSLY HAD SAID HE WOULD MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR A RAFT SAID HE COULDN'T FIND ONE. WHILE HE WAS PLAYING GOLF THE MORNING OF OUR DEP DATE I LOCATED A SURVIVAL SYS FOR 6 IN A LONDON SUBURB FOR 1200 LBS. WELL, HE WASN'T GOING TO BUY ONE. THE FO CAME TO MY RESCUE AT THIS POINT AND SUGGESTED WE STAY UNTIL WE FOUND ONE. KNOWING THAT IT WAS A DEAL BREAKER, THE BUSINESSMAN/PLT MADE A FEW PHONE CALLS AND LOW AND BEHOLD WE MADE OUR DEP SLOT UNEVENTFULLY. HE REMAINED RESTRAINED DURING THE XING AND EVERYTHING WENT UNEVENTFULLY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THERE ARE A LOT OF LESSONS I WISH I HAD KNOWN BEFORE I LEFT. THE QUESTION IS, NOW THAT I KNOW THE ANSWERS HOW DO I PASS THEM ON TO THE NEXT PLTS THAT ARE GOING TO GET ASKED TO MOVE ACFT FOR GUYS LIKE THIS? MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE SOME GUIDELINES FOR MOVING ACFT FROM OVERSEAS. AN EXPERIENCED BUSINESSMAN CAN COME OUT ON TOP IN THIS KIND OF SIT 9 TIMES OUT OF 10. AND THAT IS 9 TIMES TOO MANY.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.