The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has passed S. 571, better known as the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, bringing third-class medical reform one step closer to reality.
The committee passed the measure on an overwhelming bipartisan vote on Dec. 9. The bill will now go to the full Senate, where it has strong bipartisan support with 70 cosponsors, hopefully for a vote before the holiday recess. The House, where there are 152 co-sponsors on the bill, will also have to pass the measure before it can go to the President to be signed into law.
“As we’ve often said, working through the legislative route is not an easy or quick task, but we are very pleased that this progress has been made and the bill now goes to the full Senate,” said Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chairman/CEO Jack J. Pelton. “It took long hours of work by EAA and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and efforts from Senators James Inhofe and Joe Manchin, their staffs, and the other co-sponsors of the bill to get to that point. While all legislation goes through twists and turns, the key point is that pilots will be able to avoid the complexity and expense that is inherent in the current third-class medical certification process. We will continue our work to push this legislation forward, with the continuing support of EAA members who have made their voices heard to their elected representatives.”
“This is great news for the pilot community because it brings us closer than ever to meaningful third class medical reform,” said AOPA President Mark Baker. “Bringing the legislation this far has required persistence and compromise in order to get the very best possible deal for pilots while winning the support needed to keep medical reform on the table. Today’s action signals that lawmakers are continuing to move legislation that will help hundreds of thousands of pilots fly safely while saving them millions of dollars and countless hours now wasted on the medical certification process. This legislation moves the responsibility for managing many health issues out of the FAA’s bureaucracy and puts it in the hands of pilots where it belongs. The Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 frees pilots to work with their personal physicians to manage their own health, wellness, and fitness to fly.”
Under the measure, most pilots who have held a valid third-class medical, either regular or special issuance, within 10 years of the legislation’s enactment would never need to get another FAA medical exam. The rule would apply to pilots flying VFR or IFR in aircraft weighing up to 6,000 pounds and carrying up to five passengers at altitudes below 18,000 feet and speeds up to 250 knots.
For pilots whose medical certificate lapsed more than 10 years before the legislation is enacted and those who have never received a medical certificate, a one-time medical certification will be required. After a pilot has been medically certified once, either through the regular or special-issuance processes, he or she will also be able to fly indefinitely without needing to go through the FAA medical certification process again.
Pilots who develop certain medical conditions, including a small list of specific cardiac, mental health, or neurological conditions, will have to get a special issuance medical one time only.
After pilots have met these requirements, they will need to visit their personal physician once every four years for a medical exam. Pilots will need to fill out a form and provide it to the doctor performing the exam. The form includes a short questionnaire for pilots as well as a list of items the doctor must include in the examination. Following the exam, both the physician and the pilot must sign the form. The pilot must make a note of the visit and keep the signed form in his or her logbook.
Following the exam, both the physician and the pilot must sign the checklist. The pilot must make a note of the visit and keep the signed checklist in his or her logbook. While the form will include some of the items that are now part of the third-class medical exam, it will not require the doctor to make a “pass/fail” judgment and no information about the exam needs to be provided to the FAA unless it is specifically requested.
“A pilot, along with that person’s individual doctor, who knows the patient best, now can have direct freedom and responsibility for best managing health decisions,” Pelton said. “The Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 frees pilots to work with their personal physicians to manage their own health, wellness, and fitness to fly.”
In addition to the medical exam, pilots will be required to take a free online education course on aeromedical factors every two years. The course will be designed to increase awareness and understanding of medical factors that can affect a pilot’s fitness to fly.
Under the bill, the FAA will have a year from the date the legislation becomes law to produce a final rule reflecting the legislation’s provisions. If the final rule is not ready within one year of the bill’s enactment, pilots will be allowed to fly under the guidelines set out in the legislation without facing FAA enforcement action.
The legislation also directs the FAA to streamline the special issuance medical process and identify additional medical conditions that AMEs can issue medical certificates for without requiring the pilot to go through the special issuance medical process.
“Is it a perfect bill with everything that we could have wanted?,” Peyton said. “Of course not. Legislation rarely is. It is, however, broad relief and reform for the vast majority of individuals who want to fly for fun and personal transportation. It is the furthest advancement ever made for this essential aeromedical reform.”
This bill is far from perfect, but it is obviously the best we can get right now and I thank Senator Inhofe for his efforts.
Under Obama the bureaucratic abuses perpetrated the democrats’ nanny-state-enforcers have simply exploded and things are getting worse by the day. Our country is quickly changing from the traditional “if it isn’t specifically outlawed it is inherently legal” to the European version: “If it isn’t specifically allowed it is inherently outlawed”.
In this environment it is simply amazing that Senator Inhofe has managed to get anything done and without him we would probably be going backwards. There are powerful forces working hard to ensure that we eventually end up in a nanny-society like Europe where private pilots are becoming an endangered species.
And please don’t go down the path of “the Republicans are doing it, too”. The democrats’ underlying philosophy is not the least bit conducive to individualist activities like general aviation, and if you value your freedom to fly you had better wake up. In the democrats’ dream-world top-dog democrats like Warren Buffett and Nancy Pelosi will still be able to get in their jets and go for a ride, but fossil-fuel-consuming general aviation will otherwise become a spectator-sport only for regular folk like you and me.
Please wake up!
You hit the nail on the head,Peter. A guy from Great Britain just wrote and wanted to know if I had done stress analysis on the engine mount I built for the Kingfisher amphib I built. I told him no, that I just used what the plans said, and he said he is required to get stress analysis for the engine mount or they won’t let him build the plane. Now, that is true nanny state. What a crock!!!!!!!!!
I personally think we need to lay the responsibility where it’s due on Mr. Huerta’s lap. Mr Huerta is the head of the FAA so he is the man that has the final say so on everything, right ?? So I think if we drop a bomb on his lap once a week like the bomb he dropped on our lap at Oshkosh a year ago and we do this every week until he actually does something productive and intentional , I think perhaps we might end up with something worth while, ” maybe “. The point is not to ease up, and keep the pressure on, that is how fights are won !! No exceptions.. Place the fault where it’s due. If he means what he says and is for GA like he says he is it will surely be an,” attaboy” and not another, ” ah s–t “. thank you
There is a lot hidden in the bill. There is no real relief from legal liability. When you take a physical with your own doctor, You must submit a questionnaire which has the same 8500-8 questions. Thus your entire medical history must be stated as at present. Then the bill says the questionnaire, and result of your physical, will not be sent to the FAA “unless requested”. So if you have an accident or incident, my guess is that it will be “requested”. Nothing much has changed from a legal perspective. Any omissions or falsehoods on the questionnaire puts you in just as much legal trouble as with the present system. Not only that, the mandatory every 2 year on line course requires your certification that you have no known disqualifying condition. Probably the “disqualifying condition” being any of the current ones, including sleep apnea, etc. Probably the same for medications.
There might be a mitigating element to all this. There are additional provisions of the bill. The bill may prevent the FAA from going on a “fishing expedition” when an enforcement action is being investigated. For example, if you had an accident due to a catastrophic engine failure, they might not be allowed to investigate your medical history, since that was unrelated to the cause of the accident. (But I’m not sure of how this will work). Today is 11 Dec and copies of the bill in its present amended state is posted online.
So, the long and the short of this is I see the Doc every 4 years instead of every 2 years. Whoop dee do! Good luck getting your personal physician to sign off on this. Between malpractice, liability and insurance issues most MDs aren’t too keen on signing anything. (they’ll probably tell you to see an AME!). Call me enormously underwhelmed.
Dude! There are docs out there that will give narcotics to know abusers. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a doc for this who isn’t a fraidy-cat.
Yeah but my personal doc isn’t going to subject me to the radiation from another CAT Scan because I have a live long history of migraines, whereas the flight surgeon does. I told him to go jump in a lake a few years ago. I was sick of playing mother-may-I with the feds every two years over the issue only to have them eventually say okay. Each time it cost me $300-500, took 4-6 hours of time and many more of worrying about it.
It will be nice to be able to fly with just my regular doc’s say so.
So after all this B.S. the FAA is going to have a year to make it a reality?
This is completely unacceptable.
While I appreciate the efforts of AOPA, EAA and all others in getting us this far, if the FAA is permitted to stall the effort for another year, all that will have been accomplished previously will be like the proverbial whizzing into the wind. Even with the provision that we can proceed without the FAA if not approved by the end of one year doesn’t help as we’ve been waiting way too long already. I am fed up, quitting AOPA and EAA and selling my airplane after 45 years of flying if I have to wait another year.
As a result, I would like to know when and how Mark Baker, Jack Pelton and Senator Inhofe will prevent the FAA from dragging its feet for another year. This will be the true test to see if our administrator, Mr. Huerta is serious about supporting general aviation. If Mr. Huerta does not seal the deal immediately after legislation is passed, then I would expect Baker, Pelton and Inhofe to hound him on a daily basis.
I’m all for the change, but one question nobody’s asked or commented on is what the insurance companies will do when this legislation is enacted. How will they look at liability rates for pilots flying under these provisions with less stringent and less frequent medical scrutiny? We can only hope it doesn’t affect the underwriting and policy pricing, but now given the opportunity to “reassess the liability risk”, I wouldn’t be surprised to see rates increase for those insured and operating under this new provision. Flying is already expensive enough. I just hope this sensible legislation doesn’t bite the checkbook even more.
Chris, Insurance companies use stats to determine potential liability. Where are the stats showing medical incapacitation is a significant issue in current underwriting standards? Why would this change under a new system of medical certification?
I’ll believe this when it finally happens and goes into effect…. and not holding my breath.
You just gotta know the FAA bureaucrats aren’t liking it. They will want it diluted with amendments and then dragged out as long as possible.
I had a ladder accident resulting in < 1 minute unconsciousness but got a brain bleed which required a burr-hole surgery in Dec 2011 to resolve blood accumulation. FAA considers this a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and requires a 2 year period of no PIC activities. Then a series of tests including CT's, sleep and non-sleep EEG's, and cognitive testing before getting a Third Class Medical recertification. I have not gone to the several thousands of dollars of medical screening in anticipation of Third Class Medical reform.
There have been no neurological issues whatsoever so would my issue be considered on that "small list of neurological conditions" that would require a new medical evaluations and still require the costly medical screening?
Every pilot should go on strike and stop flying. Show the politicos what aviation contributes to the economy. Where are John L Lewis’s and Jimmy Hoffa’s when we need them?
So after El Presdente’ signs it, the FAA has a year to come up with a final rule, right?
What happens in the time between the signature date and the year? Do the new rules automatically kick in when it is signed or are we still running under the old rules while the FAA fiddles with it for yet another year?
I’m sure the FAA will come up with some B.S. rules about this in the year they have to think up a bunch of them. While it won’t affect me, I’m sure there are many who are really disappointed in the outcome of this bill. I wish some politician would put forth an amendment to this bill to increase the weight limit for Light Sport eligible airplanes. They raised it to 1500 lbs.for the new A5 amphibian and I can’t see why it couldn’t be done for any airplane. Write your representatives and as that they amend this bill when it comes to them for a vote to include the raising of the weight Sport Pilot eligible airplanes to equal the weight of that amphibian. I know, I’m dreaming.