by Charlton (Chuck) Stanley, weekend writer
Last August, I wrote a blog post entitled The FAA and NTSB vs. Common Sense. The reader can save time by going back and reading that post at the link, because it sets out the main premises of this article.
The FAA has been under growing pressure from all segments of the aviation community to relax the standards for a Third Class medical certificate. This pressure has come from recreational pilots, manufacturers of aircraft and aircraft components, small airport operators, and small businesses. Part of the reason for this pressure is that general aviation is slowly dying.
When the FAA was created, their primary mission was to promote aviation. That includes making it safe and affordable for the flying public. However, the FAA, being bureaucrats who hate to give up power and control once it is in their grasp, asked for comments on a proposed rule change.
That was back in 2009. The initial proposal was denied in 2010. The proposed rule was resurrected, but the FAA has been slow-walking the changes–for more than five years. There has been virtually no progress toward doing away with the Third Class Medical certificate.
Last year, while being questioned, FAA officials made some vague concessions, but would not be specific.
Instead of promoting aviation, I have come to the conclusion that some segments of the FAA resemble a certain character in the Dilbert comic strip; Mordac, the Preventer of Information Services, also known as Mordac the Refuser.
Exasperated, several members of the bipartisan House and Senate Aviation Caucus introduced H.R. 3708: The General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2013 (GAPPA). S2103, an identical measure, was introduced in the Senate.
This year, we have a new Congress, and the General Aviation Pilot Protection Act 2 was introduced in the House (H.R. 1062) and the Senate (S.571) last Thursday, Feb. 25, 2015. GAPPA-2 will protect general aviation pilots from liability on charitable flights, extend legal protections to FAA representatives, and require FAA contractors to provide information under Freedom of Information Act requests.
A group of aviation industry leaders sent identical letters to the Senators and Representatives who introduced the GAPPA-2 bills in Congress this week.
The Senate letters went to Senators James Inhofe and Joe Manchin. On the House side, the letters went to Representatives Sam Graves and Collin Peterson. All these members of Congress are part of the Aviation Caucus, which may be the most bipartisan of all Congressional caucuses. The label “Pilot” does not have an (R) or (D) after it.
Text of the letter is below, showing the signatories and the organizations they represent:
As representatives of tens of thousands of individuals and companies from all segments of the general aviation community, including pilots, aircraft owners, operators, businesses that utilize aircraft, mechanics, and manufacturers, we are writing to express our strong support for the new Pilot’s Bill of Rights legislation.
General aviation has been losing an average of 6,000 pilots per year over the past 10 years, and this critically important piece of legislation includes provisions that will allow general aviation to grow and prosper while affording important protections to pilots and aircraft operators.
General aviation is an important American industry that comprises all flying outside of military and airline operations. Each year it contributes $219 billion to the U.S. economy, moves 170 million passengers, and supports 1.1 million jobs. General aviation activity takes place from 5,200 public-use airports, including 3,380 of which are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and are eligible to receive federal funding, as well as some 13,000 privately owned landing facilities.
As you know, the new legislation would make improvements to the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (Public Law 112-153) that overwhelmingly passed the Senate and the House a few years ago by addressing a number of issues important to all segments of general aviation. These issues include expanding upon a current and successful FAA third-class medical exemption for certain general aviation pilots, urging expediting updates to the FAA’s Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) program to ensure pilots receive critical safety information as part of their preflight preparation and providing protections to volunteer pilots who fly in the public interest.
Third-class medical reform remains a pivotal issue for general aviation and its future. The FAA’s medical certification system has evolved into an onerous and costly one which provides little, if any, benefit to most general aviation pilots. The FAA recognized that fact more than 10 years ago when it created the Sport Pilot standard of medical certification, which allows pilots to operate light sport aircraft without obtaining a third-class medical certificate. It has been utilized safely and effectively by thousands of pilots flying tens of thousands of hours.
Your bill stands to reduce barriers to medical certification in a manner that allows for the continued safe operation of general aviation aircraft while providing cost savings to both the FAA and the general aviation community. An Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association analysis estimates today’s total average cost of obtaining a third-class medical certificate to be $241. Coupled with an estimate of 230,250 pilots who could be expected to take advantage of the bill’s provisions, pilots could save $20.4 million every year. A conservative estimate also shows an annual savings of $2.49 million to the FAA. The money saved by reforming the third-class medical process could be used in ways that have the potential to do far more to improve safety, including increased proficiency flying, attaining additional ratings, and installing new safety equipment on aircraft.
As representatives of tens of thousands of individuals and companies from all segments of the general aviation community, including pilots, aircraft owners, operators, businesses that utilize aircraft, mechanics, and manufacturers, we are writing to express our strong support for the new Pilot’s Bill of Rights legislation.
General aviation has been losing an average of 6,000 pilots per year over the past 10 years, and this critically important piece of legislation includes provisions that will allow general aviation to grow and prosper while affording important protections to pilots and aircraft operators.
General aviation is an important American industry that comprises all flying outside of military and airline operations. Each year it contributes $219 billion to the U.S. economy, moves 170 million passengers, and supports 1.1 million jobs. General aviation activity takes place from 5,200 public-use airports, including 3,380 of which are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and are eligible to receive federal funding, as well as some 13,000 privately owned landing facilities.
As you know, the new legislation would make improvements to the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (Public Law 112-153) that overwhelmingly passed the Senate and the House a few years ago by addressing a number of issues important to all segments of general aviation. These issues include expanding upon a current and successful FAA third-class medical exemption for certain general aviation pilots, urging expediting updates to the FAA’s Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) program to ensure pilots receive critical safety information as part of their preflight preparation and providing protections to volunteer pilots who fly in the public interest.
Third-class medical reform remains a pivotal issue for general aviation and its future. The FAA’s medical certification system has evolved into an onerous and costly one which provides little, if any, benefit to most general aviation pilots. The FAA recognized that fact more than 10 years ago when it created the Sport Pilot standard of medical certification, which allows pilots to operate light sport aircraft without obtaining a third-class medical certificate. It has been utilized safely and effectively by thousands of pilots flying tens of thousands of hours.
The original Pilot’s Bill of Rights provided important protections to pilots and the new bill stands to expand on them. The FAA’s NOTAM system transmits important safety of flight information to pilots, and it is crucial that the FAA continue to provide that service and information in a timely and relevant manner. Additionally, pilots who volunteer their time and aircraft to provide public benefit flights through non-profit organizations deliver valuable services to the community and the nation. Such public benefit flights provide no-cost transportation to patients receiving specialized medical treatment, deliver humanitarian aid, and assist in disaster relief efforts. The bill’s provisions will make it easier for these organizations and pilots to continue offering these important flights.
The general aviation community greatly appreciates your leadership in introducing this important and much needed legislation. The bill and its provisions will help ensure the future sustainability of our industry and its valuable contributions to the nation’s economy and transportation system.
Sincerely, Mark R. Baker
President and CEO
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Jack Pelton
Chairman of the Board
Experimental Aircraft Association
Richard W. Sloan, MD
President
Flying Physicians Association
Peter J. Bunce
President & CEO
General Aviation Manufacturers Association
Matthew S. Zuccaro
President and CEO
Helicopter Association International
Andrew D. Moore
Executive Director
National Agricultural Aviation Association
Thomas L. Hendricks
President and CEO
National Air Transportation Association
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association
As an aside, one of the commenters in the last article I wrote on the subject is a physician and Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). He pointed out that the American Medical Association has come out against doing away with the Third Class Medical. Aviator Doc wrote:
“The AMA passed a resolution opposing this act. Once again showing they are more interested in protecting the bottom line than in being advocates for their patients. Typical. And they wonder why their membership is now less than 18% of all U.S. physicians. Once upon a time, they did some good. Now they just do stupid.”
It is noteworthy that the Flying Physicians Association has come out with strong support for GAPPA-2.
As I wrote last year, the chair of the NTSB has expressed a vague concern that somebody, somewhere, might fly with a medical impairment. As I said then, I have news for him. After researching this issue diligently I cannot find a single instance of an accident, fatal or not, that was caused by an LSA or glider pilot becoming impaired in flight for medical reasons.
Yes, there have been accidents. All caused by either mechanical failure or pilot error. Those accidents occurred at about the same (or less) incident rate as pilots with current and valid medical certificates.
After scouring the NTSB accident report database, I cannot find a single incident of a sport or glider pilot flying on a driver’s license alone dying at the controls. On the other hand, there are several reports of both commercial and private pilots who died while flying. Several non-pilots or low-time pilots have had to land an airplane with a dead or incapacitated pilot in the left seat. In every one of those incidents, the dead pilot had a current medical certificate in his or her pocket. This link takes you to an audio recording of one such incident.
Some non-pilot members of congress and the bureaucracy seem to be fearful of a pilot without a Class III medical flying after smoking a joint or taking pills. I do not advocate smoking weed and popping pills, but I have news for them. They pass people on the highway all the time who do that.
Most pilots have far too much invested in training and safety to do stupid stuff. As a group, both commercial and private pilots are far more attuned to the state of their own health than the average person. I have said frequently; no pilot wants to be the first to the scene of an accident, especially if they have their family on board.
If somebody from the FAA, NTSB, or Congress can offer a rational explanation—based on scientifically valid research instead of somebody’s gut feeling—just how the Third Class Medical certificate for private pilots keeps the public safer, I am all ears. The floor is open in the comment section for a reply.
–ooOoo–
A Disclaimer: The author of this article has multi-engine, instrument & glider ratings, and has been flying airplanes off and on since 1950. Also have done mental health evaluations for the FAA for years, and am a member of the Association for Aviation Psychology.
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
Filed under: Congress, Justice, Science, Society, Uncategorized 
