Lakeview Bill wrote:
Could not a "ramp check" be construed as "interfering with a required
crew
member"?

I agree that it is possible the FAA person was out of line.

And, as I originally pointed out, we don't have enough information to
really
assess what happened.

But that also means that we don't have enough information to
determine that
the FAA was acting beyond their authority, as might be inferred from
the
subject line on the original post and by the various other comments
that
have been posted.

From the article : "An FAA spokesman told the Star that interference
with flight-crew operations violates federal aviation law and is
subject to a civil fine of up to $10,000. "

It's pretty simple. The FAA person is not part of the flight crew
and has no business interfering with a flight crew in flight. What
other information to you need to come to the conclusion that a flight
standards rep cannot interfere with a flight crew? The law does has no
exemption for people that happen to work for the FAA.

The degree of interference may be in question, but it seems pretty
clear to me that the FAA person was clearly overstepping her authority.
As far as the law is concerned, she was just another passenger on
that flight.

BTW - In addition to the FARs, there are federal criminal statutes that
cover interference with a flight crew.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)