Clubs and TC Certificate

[saboo]

There has been some discussion about asking to see a TC Certificate from a person wishing to fly on a club's field.

A national organization has put forward a position that a club should not ask or verify if a person has a TC Certificate.

I believe this is seriously flawed advice. The legislation says only specified individuals can DEMAND to see your certificate. DEMAND in the legislation has a legal implication. It allows for enforcement in the public arena and the wording enables certain specified persons to confirm compliance. If the wording was not in the legislation then enforcement would be very difficult. It is similar to a DEMAND to see your drivers license.

However, a REQUIREMENT can be a condition to be met to obtain a good or service. The good or service from a club's point of view is access to a flying field or premise. The club cannot demand production of the document. Neither does the club have to provide a good or service if you refuse.

An example is you wish to take part in an off road motorized event. The organizers says holding a current valid drivers license and insurance is a requirement. You either produce those documents or you are prevented from participation.

The question then arises. If the executive of an organization does NOT require production of a certificate, are they willing to assume liability if the person, not in legal compliance, goes flying and has an incident?

So as I said before, I believe the national organization's advice is flawed. Executives of clubs should carefully consider the national organizations advice and clearly decide how much liability they are willing to accept when they do not require production of a certificate. Some club members may consider the risk too high and refrain to join the executive or remove themselves from the executive. That could have implications for the viability of the club of which they are a member.

Something to think about as the flying season approaches.