A pilot was questioned by an FAA inspector about a flight over lava flow near hilo, hi.

Attributes
ACN	440513
Time
Date	199906
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : ito.airport
State Reference	HI
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	ground : parked
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 10 flight time total : 6000 flight time type : 300
ASRS Report	440513
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Events
Independent Detector	other other : 2
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Ambiguous

Narrative:

Received request to call tower on arrival. Called -- another person (believe FAA inspector) queried me as to whether or not I was flying an air tour, and said the aircraft was observed to be at 500 ft over the ocean in the vicinity of the lava entry from pu U do vent. During the flight, the aircraft was always to my knowledge in compliance with part 91.119 and part 91-138 and part 91.13. I was not flying (plting) a tour, but had rented the aircraft from a company that flies tours and offers aircraft rentals.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PLT WAS QUESTIONED BY AN FAA INSPECTOR ABOUT A FLT OVER LAVA FLOW NEAR HILO, HI.

Narrative: RECEIVED REQUEST TO CALL TWR ON ARR. CALLED -- ANOTHER PERSON (BELIEVE FAA INSPECTOR) QUERIED ME AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I WAS FLYING AN AIR TOUR, AND SAID THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO BE AT 500 FT OVER THE OCEAN IN THE VICINITY OF THE LAVA ENTRY FROM PU U DO VENT. DURING THE FLT, THE ACFT WAS ALWAYS TO MY KNOWLEDGE IN COMPLIANCE WITH PART 91.119 AND PART 91-138 AND PART 91.13. I WAS NOT FLYING (PLTING) A TOUR, BUT HAD RENTED THE ACFT FROM A COMPANY THAT FLIES TOURS AND OFFERS ACFT RENTALS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.