Aviation advocate flies west

Former U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), a pilot who logged more than 11,000 hours, passed away July 9, 2024, after a sudden illness. He was 89.

Inhofe retired at the end of 2022 after serving more than 25 years in the U.S. Senate.

Known as a tireless advocate for general aviation, Inhofe made numerous contributions to aviation throughout his career.

He was on the front lines in the fight for Bob Hoover and other aviators with his 1999 legislation that came to be known as the “Hoover Bill,” which allows FAA certificate holders to immediately appeal emergency revocations to the National Transportation Safety Board, after the FAA made the decision to revoke Hoover’s medical certificate without cause.

In 2011, he introduced legislation to level the playing field between pilots and the FAA. Known as the Pilot’s Bill of Rights, this legislation was unanimously passed and signed into law in 2012, and made FAA enforcement proceedings and NTSB reviews fairer for pilots by ensuring they understood their rights and had access to information to appropriately defend themselves during enforcement proceedings.

Third class medical reform was a key provision in Inhofe’s Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2. The legislation to reform the medical certification process for recreational pilots was introduced by Inhofe in 2015, and BasicMed was enacted into law in 2016.

Inhofe has also championed the continued operation of all federal contract towers, leading efforts to ensure this program is funded every year.

To help combat the shortage of trained pilots, aviation technicians, and other aviation professionals, Inhofe introduced legislation in 2018 to support the development of high school aviation science, technology, engineering, and math curriculum to help grow the aviation workforce. He also introduced legislation to establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation focused on bringing the industry together to eliminate aviation workforce shortages and keep U.S. aviation prepared and competitive in a global market.

Before he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1995, Inhofe served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Oklahoma House and Senate, and as mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Senator Inhofe was a master legislator and general aviation’s great champion,” said National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Those two truths are reflected in every aviation bill that has passed Congress and been signed into law over the past 35 years.”

Inhofe is survived by his wife, three children, and more than a dozen grandchildren. His son, Perry, died in 2013 in a plane crash near Tulsa. Like his father, Perry was a certified pilot and CFI.