Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from the Federal 
Aviation Administration, and the FAA examiner arrived last week for the 
pre-Christmas flight check.

In preparation, Santa had the elves wash 
the sled and bathe all the reindeer. Santa got his log book out and made
sure all his paperwork was in order. He knew they would examine all 
his equipment and truly put Santa's flying skills to the test.

The 
examiner walked slowly around the sled. He checked the reindeer 
harnesses, the landing gear, and even Rudolph's nose. He painstakingly 
reviewed Santa's weight and balance calculations for sled's enormous 
payload. Finally, they were ready for the check ride.

Santa got in and 
fastened his seat belt and shoulder harness and checked the compass.

Then the examiner hopped in carrying, to Santa's surprise, a shotgun.

"What's that for?!?" asked Santa incredulously.

The examiner winked and 
said, "I'm not supposed to tell you this ahead of time," as he leaned 
over to whisper in Santa's ear, "but you're gonna lose an engine on 
takeoff."