It is a little-known fact that Santa has to keep his Pilot's Licence current in order to make his deliveries every year, and so the old man wasn't too surprised when he got a letter from the CAA informing him that an examiner would be appearing shortly to run him through the usual re-certification drill. A detail of elves was sent out to wash and polish the sleigh, another group was assigned to inspect, service and repair all the tack, and a third squad started grooming the reindeer. Santa himself got out his log book and the rest of the paperwork and made sure that it was all in order.
On the appointed day the examiner arrived, and after the ritual cup of coffee, he went over Santa's log and the paperwork, then followed Santa outside. After a meticulous review of Santa's weight and balance calculations, the examiner watched Santa do the pre-flight, then followed behind him, looking closely at everything from the bells on the back of the sleigh to Rudolph's nose.
When he finished, he turned to Santa and said: "It looks pretty good so far. Let me get one thing out of my bags and then we'll take her up." When the examiner got back, Santa was in the sleigh and ready to taxi. As the examiner climbed into the sleigh, Santa noticed that he was carrying a shotgun. "What's THAT for?" he asked. The examiner looked at him, then winked: "I really shouldn't tell you this, but you're going to lose an engine on take-off."
