"Neil Gould" wrote in message
et...
Remember those two airline pilots that got busted for being drunk when
they boarded the plane in Florida recently? Were they not charged with
operating an aircraft under the influence? The engines were not yet
running, as I recall. So, apparently, it takes a lot less to "operate" the
aircraft than "air navigation" in reality.

Just as logging takes place from initial movement to final rest, as long as
flight was intended, "air navigation" includes times spent operating on the
ground, as long as the intent was to fly.

If the intent was not to fly, no operation happened.

In any case, if anything the citation of those pilots simply reinforces the
point that operating an aircraft need not involve the engines being started.

Nonetheless, I'll re-read the
regs to see your point of view on this.

For what it's worth, both of the relevant regulations have been posted to
this thread: the requirement to use anticollision lights, and the definition
of "operate". So, it shouldn't be too hard to re-read them.

Pete