I think that bit of USA law is also not written as well as it could. I think the people that drafted it meant what ICAO would define as “When operating an aircraft within a foreign country, a pilot license issue, validated or rendered valid by that country may be used.” But the USA, when validating a licence, actually issue a piece of plastic, so they didn’t think of writing that “generally and correctly”.
If it had been written that way, there would be no problem, since all EASA states automatically validate other state’s licences.
lionel wrote:
since all EASA states automatically validate other state’s licences.
Yes, since Nov2018 with an explicit paper on top of the license in response to ramp check/grounding of EASA aircraft operating outside EASA countries as the crew did not hold a aircraft country license (I understand it was Norwegian fleet 
), so probably time to get a new N-reg interpretation
The sad thing is that by the time you get an opinion reply we’ll probably be out of EASA anyway 
then let Jacko finish the work !
Actually, Jacko is by no means convinced that it would be in his interest to try to persuade the FAA to change its interpretations on this subject.
For a start, the FAA’s lawyers rightly refer to US obligations under the 1944 Chicago Convention.
Next is the fact that Jacko is happy to pootle down to Yorkshire every couple of years for a mug of tea and a flight review with the friendly resident FAA CFI.
Last but not least is the view, widely held by N-reg aircraft owners, that the world would be a better place without EASA and its myriad rule-making committees and neo-totalitarian NAAs splash-farting a suffocating slurry of regulations like flocks of geese fed on castor oil.
No, if Jacko was minded to waste time thinking about Articles 32 and 33 of the Chicago Convention, he would rather focus on the purported right of the EU to invoke a corruption of Article 32(b) of the Convention when there is really no such thing as an EU “national”.
Jacko wrote:
there is really no such thing as an EU “national”.
Since the Maastricht treaty (in force in 1993), there is. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_of_the_European_Union. The USA Constitution works in the same way; citizens of each State are also citizens of the United States. See e.g. Article IV, section 2:
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
(…) —between Citizens of different States;
Clearly there is a notion of “citizen of Maryland” or “citizen of Oklahoma” that is still there. But also a notion of “citizen of the United States”, as in Article I, section 2:
(…) been seven Years a Citizen of the United States
lionel wrote:
since all EASA states automatically validate other state’s licences.
It is NOT the fact that all EASA states validate other state’s license! The reason for that is quite simple: There is no such thing as “other state’s license”*
So you don’t have French or German or Swiss or … license that is validated by another state, you have an EASA license that is valid across EASA territory. (It actually says “European Union Pilot License” not “German pilot license valid across European Union”).
These licenses are issued by national (or regional) CAAs on behalf of EASA – not on behalf of the respective country. It’s the same like if you do your drivers license in Berlin, the actual license is issued by the Berlin administration but it’s not a Berlin license that is validated in Munich but a German license that happens to be printed in Berlin).
So if FAA would take their own rules literally, they had to answer that there is no way to fly an n-reg in Europe without an FAA license as the “pilot license issued by that country” technically does no longer exist in Europe since EASA…
*as long as we are talking about east licenses and not certain national licenses.
Malibuflyer wrote:
So you don’t have French or German or Swiss or … license that is validated by another state, you have an EASA license that is valid across EASA territory. (It actually says “European Union Pilot License” not “German pilot license valid across European Union”).
Dunno. I can’t find a definite source that affirms, nor one that contradicts, that.
My licence says “Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – Directorate of Civil Aviation – European Union – Flight Crew Licence”. Sounds awfully similar to my passport which says “European Union – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg” (note the reversal), and which certifies my Luxembourg citizenship (and my European Union citizenship only by implication), and is issued by the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, on behalf of itself, thank you very much. And e.g. the USA accept some EU passports for “Visa Waiver” and not others…
And I have it in writing that these licences are automatically validated by all these states, and the agreements of automatic validation are registered with ICAO. I guess you would say that these are EASA licences, and these EASA licences are automatically validated by all member states.
I think I understand your point. Looking at the picture at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/SPL_Vorderseite.jpg
You actually parse this as “Bundesrepublik Deutschland” and then “European Union Pilotenlizenz”, while I parse this as “Bundesrepublik Deutschland – European Union” and then “Pilotenlizenz”. Interesting. Then I counter: I can’t find an image of a Swiss or Norwegian licence (license issued by Norway or Switzerland according to Part-FCL) online, but the model contained in the legislation says that, logically, “European Union” should be deleted for non-EU Member States. So you have a licence that just says (my best guess):
Confédération Helvétique
FOCA
Flight Crew Licence
Issued in accordance to Part-FCL
Without any reference to EASA nor European Union except a tiny “EASA Form 141 issue 1” at the bottom of the first page.
It would be interesting to see the text of the agreements between the EU and Switzerland or Norway, to see what it says about these licences. Does the agreement empower CH/NO to issue licences on behalf of EASA, or does it “merely” organise the automatic recognition of licences issued by EU member states by CH/NO and vice-versa?
