An amendment included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would reverse the FAA’s sudden change in flight training policy for certain types of aircraft garnered approval from the House of Representatives on Sept. 23, 2021.
The bipartisan amendment put forward by Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Kai Kahele (D-Hawaii) clarifies that a flight instructor providing student instruction, flight instruction, or flight training “shall not be deemed to be operating an aircraft carrying persons or property for compensation or hire.”
“This is an important first step toward a solution to the FAA’s misguided interpretation on flight training. The FAA did not heed the committee’s bipartisan call to work toward a consensus solution in July, and now Congress is taking action,” said Graves. “I look forward to working with Rep. Kahele and our allies in both parties and both chambers to ensure that a legislative solution to the FAA’s new flight training guidance makes it into the final NDAA package.”
“This important amendment will clear up the confusion associated with flight instruction for general aviation pilots and I look forward to working with the Senate to ensure it is signed into law,” Kahele added.
Although the amendment would restore what has been precedent for 60 years, the FAA’s July 12 flight training directive currently requires operators of certain categories of aircraft to obtain a letter of deviation authority (LODA) in order to conduct flight training.
According to the FAA, LODAs “prevent operators from broadly offering their aircraft for joyrides and other similar experiences under the guise of ‘flight training.’”
But the agency’s new policy triggered an onslaught of backlash from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, and other general aviation advocacy groups. These advocates say the new policy is “nothing more than red tape and paperwork exercises that do nothing to enhance safety — quite the opposite.”
Even FAA Administrator Steve Dickson called the LODA a “four-letter word” and “document drill” at an EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021 forum, telling aviators, “I’m not any happier about this situation than you are.”
Thousands of general aviation pilots were put in regulatory noncompliance practically overnight — causing much confusion among the flying community. This uncertainty led AOPA officials to reach out to allies in Congress to fight for common-sense legislation.
On July 22, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Graves introduced the Certainty for General Aviation Pilots Act of 2021 in both chambers to address the issue. AOPA President Mark Baker then launched a call to action to members urging them to reach out to their elected officials in Congress to support the legislation. This action resulted in nearly 100,000 letters sent to members of Congress in a matter of weeks.
Congress is able to fix this because “regulation” is “legislation” written and enacted into law by the Executive Branch and Congress wields the legislative power under our Constitution. Similarly, “adjudication” is judicial power exercised by the Executive Branch; errors in adjudication by Executive Branch agencies are corrected (within excessively narrow limits) by the Judicial Branch, which wields the Judicial power under our Constitution. Executive Branch agencies commit ridiculous errors like this flight training debacle because Congress is accountable for legislation and the Judicial Branch for the operations of the courts; it is difficult to hold the Executive Branch adequately accountable for either. This problem, which has existed for about 75 years and grows worse every year, would be remedied by transplanting all power, personnel, budget, and agenda items involved in “rulemaking” from federal Executive Branch agencies and grafting it into Congress, where legislative power belongs, and all “adjudicatory” power, personnel, budget, and agenda items to the Judicial Branch. Both Congress and the Supreme Court are experienced in managing agencies of their respective branches. This change, although it seems radical, would be far less disruptive of Federal government operations than the creation of the Department of Homeland Security was in the aftermath of 9/11, and would restore the Constitutional separation of powers that enables voters to hold Federal officials accountable for their actions. The separation of powers is the foundation upon which our Constitutional structure is built; restoring it should be the voters’ first priority from now until it’s done.
Leave it to the Idiot Administration to cause a problem that 2 Republicans solved pretty quickly. No, I didn’t forget the one Dem that stepped on board…. It seems even a few of them are walking up.
Ahem. The Administrator and most of the senior political staff of the FAA were appointed by the previous administration. I don’t think this is as much a Party issue is it is an overall DC “administrative state” problem regardless of party.
Thank you to legislators of both parties for righting this wrong.