Officials with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association report they have reviewed President Donald Trump’s executive order to hold pending and new regulations for a 60-day review and determined that the freeze does not apply to BasicMed, which provides a long-anticipated alternative to medical certification.
The executive order is a standard operating procedure for new administrations.
According to AOPA officials, the order exempts “any regulations subject to statutory or judicial deadlines.”
The FAA had a statutory deadline of early January 2017 to publish the third class medical reform final rule in the Federal Register. That limit was set in the legislation signed into law last summer.
Meanwhile, the FAA is working on finalizing the checklist for the physical exam, and is also reviewing AOPA’s online aeromedical course.
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the FAA must receive Office of Management and Budget approval of the checklist and course, but that again is expected to happen in time for the May 1 effective date, AOPA officials noted.
Pilots should note that they cannot operate under BasicMed until the new rules take effect on May 1, and that they must first meet certain requirements to fly under BasicMed.
Pilots who have held a regular medical certificate or special issuance anytime on or after July 15, 2006, whose most recent medical was not suspended, revoked, or withdrawn, can fly under BasicMed by getting a physical exam by a state-licensed physician in accordance with a checklist that will be filled out by the pilot and the physician, and then completing the online aeromedical course.
Pilots should take those steps in that order because upon successful competition of the aeromedical course, certain information must be transmitted to the FAA such as the name, address, and contact information for the pilot, as well as the physician who performed the exam, the date of the examination, an authorization for the National Driver Registry check, and the pilot’s certifications acknowledging his or her fitness to fly.
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