Flyboy
Member
Back story:
I'm a flight instructor, and used to be employed by a flight school in the Oklahoma City area (if anybody wants to know where, or what school, PM me; anybody thinking about taking flight lessons, or in the aviation scene around OKC, probably ought to). I resigned my position with that flight school about eighteen months ago, and took another job at the same airport (unrelated; I rarely fly, and never instruct, at this job).
About three months ago, I found out my former boss wasn't a flight instructor after all. This is a Bad Thing, because he gave me some endorsements (which have to come from an instructor). I talked to the FAA, and they decided that my former boss was not cut out to be a pilot, and suspended his certificates (*all* of them, not just his non-existant instructor certificates). He's been going through all of the legal appeals, and as such, he knows I turned him in. He's more than a little torqued with me, I'm told (blames me for everything), though I haven't seen him in probably a year.
Until today. I was leaving the office today to go visit friends at another hangar, and passed him on the road. I saw him, and he saw me--I know, because I saw the look on his face. After I passed him, he stopped at a stop sign, and waited for forty-five seconds to a minute, missing several opportunities to turn. Finally, he turned around, and went back in the direction I was headed.
Needless to say, my spidey sense tingled. I headed directly to the hangar where my friends were; that let me get out of sight, with people I trust, and one of whom has a CCW permit (though I don't think she typically carries). He didn't follow me back to the hangar, but seeing him turn around really raised my hackles.
Now, there could have been a legitimate reason for him to go that way--his office is also back in that general direction. It's possible that he was just going back to the office for some reason, and the timing was coincidental. I'm not much inclined to believe in such things, but seeing as how he didn't follow me back to the hangar, and he didn't say or do anything that indicated a threat, I opted not to call the police and file a report, but I'm still a little bit paranoid. In fact, I took an alternate route home (I didn't see any sign of being followed, but something just seemed off; probably just latent paranoia) this evening, just in case.
It goes without saying that I'll be on my guard from now on (moreso even than normal), but I'm interested in learning more about countersurveillance; I want to know how to keep an eye out for him, and to spot him before he sees me. I'm letting this one go, but if I see him do something like this again, I'll be on the phone with the police in the blink of an eye. I don't think he'd do anything stupid(-er)--he's a little weenie who'll whine and complain that the whole world is picking on him, and it's not his fault, and so forth--but I don't think he has the moxie to do anything about it. That said, animals can do funny things when they're cornered, so I intend to be alert for it. Anybody have any suggestions of books to read or anything? Finding a new job isn't an option; I kinda like my job (kinda), and I just got a raise. I'm not going to run and hide just because he might have been following me once, but I do intend to keep my eyes peeled.
I'm a flight instructor, and used to be employed by a flight school in the Oklahoma City area (if anybody wants to know where, or what school, PM me; anybody thinking about taking flight lessons, or in the aviation scene around OKC, probably ought to). I resigned my position with that flight school about eighteen months ago, and took another job at the same airport (unrelated; I rarely fly, and never instruct, at this job).
About three months ago, I found out my former boss wasn't a flight instructor after all. This is a Bad Thing, because he gave me some endorsements (which have to come from an instructor). I talked to the FAA, and they decided that my former boss was not cut out to be a pilot, and suspended his certificates (*all* of them, not just his non-existant instructor certificates). He's been going through all of the legal appeals, and as such, he knows I turned him in. He's more than a little torqued with me, I'm told (blames me for everything), though I haven't seen him in probably a year.
Until today. I was leaving the office today to go visit friends at another hangar, and passed him on the road. I saw him, and he saw me--I know, because I saw the look on his face. After I passed him, he stopped at a stop sign, and waited for forty-five seconds to a minute, missing several opportunities to turn. Finally, he turned around, and went back in the direction I was headed.
Needless to say, my spidey sense tingled. I headed directly to the hangar where my friends were; that let me get out of sight, with people I trust, and one of whom has a CCW permit (though I don't think she typically carries). He didn't follow me back to the hangar, but seeing him turn around really raised my hackles.
Now, there could have been a legitimate reason for him to go that way--his office is also back in that general direction. It's possible that he was just going back to the office for some reason, and the timing was coincidental. I'm not much inclined to believe in such things, but seeing as how he didn't follow me back to the hangar, and he didn't say or do anything that indicated a threat, I opted not to call the police and file a report, but I'm still a little bit paranoid. In fact, I took an alternate route home (I didn't see any sign of being followed, but something just seemed off; probably just latent paranoia) this evening, just in case.
It goes without saying that I'll be on my guard from now on (moreso even than normal), but I'm interested in learning more about countersurveillance; I want to know how to keep an eye out for him, and to spot him before he sees me. I'm letting this one go, but if I see him do something like this again, I'll be on the phone with the police in the blink of an eye. I don't think he'd do anything stupid(-er)--he's a little weenie who'll whine and complain that the whole world is picking on him, and it's not his fault, and so forth--but I don't think he has the moxie to do anything about it. That said, animals can do funny things when they're cornered, so I intend to be alert for it. Anybody have any suggestions of books to read or anything? Finding a new job isn't an option; I kinda like my job (kinda), and I just got a raise. I'm not going to run and hide just because he might have been following me once, but I do intend to keep my eyes peeled.
oh well. He'll have more than the FAA to worry about!
