Opinions regarding Flying an Unregistered Aircraft

[Marc Zeitlin]

So, lets say, hypothetically, that someone admitted on a public form that they had been flying an unregistered aircraft for some period of time. Besides the fact that they would, again hypothetically, be subject to substantial FAA civil penalties of up to $27,500 per flight occurrence, they'd also be admitting to a Federal Crime, with penalties of up to 3 years in prison, per:

https://pilot-protection-services.a...mber/01/aircraft-registration-dos-and-do-nots​

and

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/46306​

49 CFR #46306(B)(5)​

Also, per 14 CFR Part 13.2(a):

Any person who knows of any violation of 49 U.S.C. subtitle VII, 49 U.S.C. chapter 51, or any rule, regulation, or order issued under those statutes, should report the violation to FAA personnel.​

Now, a few questions come to mind regarding the recommended actions for those being exposed to this public admission of guilt.

Hmmm. So, here are the questions, in some semblance of a particular order:

1. Would the other members of the public forum, therefore, be required to report this hypothetical admission of rule breaking? It says "should", not "shall", and there certainly are no penalties for not reporting it, but what's the right action here?
   
   
2. When a clear safety of flight issue is discussed on the forum, it's not uncommon for someone (or some number of someones) to suggest that maybe the FAA should be advised of the safety issue in question. Does this hypothetical flying without a registration fit into the category of "safety of flight", or do we (the non-imperial "we") believe that a hypothetical flight (or many of them) without registering the aircraft is in no way a safety issue?
   
   
3. If this hypothetical flying an unregistered aircraft is not a safety issue, why? Given that almost all FAA regulations are written in blood, in what way is this regulation exempt from the safety realm?
   
   
4. If flying an unregistered aircraft is not a safety issue, then is the only reason that the vast majority of aircraft owners register their aircraft because there are fines and possible prison sentences involved in not doing so?

This is a serious inquiry - let the discussion ensue.

Thanks.

 

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[Marc Zeitlin]

 

[Marc Zeitlin]

 

[raumzeit]

 

[Marc Zeitlin]

 

[Marc Zeitlin]

 

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[Marc Zeitlin]

 

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[crusty old aviator]