U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) took to the Senate floor June 14 to ask for passage of his Pilots Bill of Rights legislation. The effort, however was blocked by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) and ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), according to a report at RotorNews.
The bill would require, among other things, that the FAA notify pilots when they are under investigation, along with beginning a process to improve NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen), but with the top two lawmakers in charge of aviation opposed, the bill is unlikely to be considered in the Senate anytime soon, the report concludes.
And just what the heck is wrong with Inhofe’s bill? Â Unlike every other group in the United States, pilots remain guilty until proven innocent. Â I suspect this is all part of the national policy to keep us ‘under control’ and out of the sky.