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7 Answers

Ethical to instruct family or close friends?

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Flight Instructor

As a psychologist, I'm taught very clearly not to have friends or family as clients. Instructing differs from therapy, but is it still not a good to be the instructor foe those to whom one is close? Not finding anything in the ethical guidelines.

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7 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Feb 09, 2015

    Ethics would not be a problem. You are only instructing the family member. You cannot test them and issue a pilot certificate. That would raise some ethical issues.

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  2. Nibake on Feb 10, 2015

    I think instructing family members is pretty common. I instructed my older brother and he was one of my best students!

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  3. Matthew Waugh on Feb 11, 2015

    I don’t think there’s an ethical problem either – like teaching people to drive I’m not sure it’s a great idea, but it’s ethical.

    But Kris raised a question. If it is not ethical for a DPE to conduct a pilot test for a certificate how does that differ from a CFI signing off a family member for solo. It’s not a test – but certainly it’s the granting of privileges based on performance?

    So what’s the difference?

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  4. Gary Moore on Feb 11, 2015

    I’m with Matt on this one – it may be a grey area – but it’s pretty dark grey. I think it crosses a line to sign off family members…

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  5. Kris Kortokrax on Feb 12, 2015

    There is a difference between authorizing solo privileges for 90 days and conducting a practical test which would grant unlimited privileges (no expiration date and worldwide flight capability).

    I have several friends with whom I am closer than some family members. Where do we draw the line ethics wise?

    How about a situation where an air carrier check airman has to give a flight check to his boss or a military instructor has to give instruction or flight checks to his commanding officer?

    Ethics is a personal decision. Either you have ethics or you don’t.

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  6. Mark Kolber on Feb 14, 2015

    I’m not convinced even the DPE signing off a friend situation is unethical or, to go back to the original post, in any way equivalent to a psychologist treating a family member. Psychology by its nature requires delving into someine’s mind and a lot of subjective component. Personal relationships in that context have a pretty high potential for the psychologist’s own issues to have a significant effect, so I can see a good reason for a blanket ethical rule to be applied to the whole profession.

    I place the DPE in the same situation as the CFI (who is also in a position to grant unlimited flight privileges). Might not be a good idea in some cases but not across-the-board unethical.

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  7. Kris Kortokrax on Feb 14, 2015

    Some years ago, I gave instruction to the son of the man who had given me instruction toward my Private certificate. I recommended him for the practical. His father who by that time had become a DPE, would not give him the test. He had his son take the test with another DPE because of the mere appearance of a conflict of interest.

    That is what ethics is all about.

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