The Nation - News from Aug. 5, 1988

A federal air safety inspector and an Air Force lieutenant colonel helped as many as 20 fighter pilots cheat on their exams for commercial aviation licenses, prosecutors said. The men, along with four former officers, all from Homestead Air Force Base south of Miami, were named in an indictment accusing them of falsifying test results and trying to cover up the scandal. Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector Charles Chinn, a major in the Air Force reserve, was accused of being the ringleader. The FAA suspended Chinn without pay, an FAA Washington spokesman said. Five of the six defendants appeared before a federal magistrate and were ordered released on $50,000 personal bond each.