WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board, in a Safety Recommendation Report issued recently, urged the FAA and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to educate pilots and aviation medical examiners about the hazards cataracts pose to flight safety. The report contains three NTSB safety recommendations for the development and dissemination of educational information […]
Medical
Have you seen a doctor lately?
By MIKE LUCAS As I removed my shirt and sat up on the examination table, my Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) asked me: “Have you seen a doctor lately?” The question was curious to me. I have been visiting an AME physician every year since 1985. That question was, it seemed, a trick question, I was […]
Third class medical reform reality
On July 15, general aviation changed forever. That’s when President Barack Obama signed into law an FAA authorization extension that includes third class medical reform. “Medical reforms are now the law, and that’s a big win for general aviation,” said Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) President Mark Baker. “This is the most significant legislative […]
Fit to fly
By TOM DOUGLAS Seventeen minutes without a heartbeat set Jim Poling off in a new and life-fulfilling direction. “They say you can only survive 19 minutes with a shut-down heart, so it was a close call,” Jim related recently. “Even so, a stroke suffered on the operating table left me blind in one eye.” The […]
New recommendations for mental health fitness for pilots
The FAA has released recommendations from an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) tasked with providing input on how to assess and improve pilots mental fitness for duty. The ARC was empaneled last year in the aftermath of the Malaysia Air 370 and GermanWings 9525 tragedies. In both cases, a depressed member of the flight crew is believed […]
Third class medical reform included in defense bill
Third class medical reform will once again go to the full Senate for a vote, this time as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). On May 13, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the NDAA, including third class medical reform language from the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (PBR2), by a vote of […]
Senate passes medical reform
The U.S. Senate has passed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 (PBOR2). The bill, which includes third-class medical reform, was passed by unanimous consent on Dec. 15, less than a week after it was reported out by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The House of Representatives must also pass the bill before […]
Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 clears key Senate committee
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 […]
GA advocates urge Congress to support medical reform
On the eve of a U.S. Senate committee’s consideration of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, 17 aviation groups, including the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and those representing medical professionals and airline pilots — have signed a letter urging passage of the bill that would bring significant aeromedical reform.The bipartisan legislation, […]