Third Class Medical Reform

     The Pilot’s Bill of Rights was passed in 2012, but the FAA didn’t do much in response to it. Three years later in February of 2015, Senator Jim Inhofe brought the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 in front of the Senate. “The amendment 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” (GA Advocates Urge Congress to Support Medical Reform , 2015).This medical reform will allow pilots who hold a third class medical to not have to go to the aviation medical examiner if they have received their medical within the past ten years. The medical reform includes both regular and special issuance. To this rule, there are some exceptions. If you have not gotten a medical within the past ten years or your medical hasn’t been valid within the past ten years, then you have to go see the examiner just once to receive your third class medical. If you have never received a third class medical, then you have to go see the aviation medical examiner once in order to get your medical. If one were to become diagnosed with certain medical conditions like mental issues, neurological or cardiac conditions, then that pilot will have to get a medical that is special issuance from the FAA only once. “The rule would apply to pilots flying VFR or IFR in aircraft weighing up to 6,000 pounds and carrying up to five passengers at altitudes below 18,000 feet and speeds up to 250 knots” (Tennyson, Full Senate Passes Medical Reform, 2015). With this medical reform, pilots will not have to get recertified for their third class medical, but they will have to see their own doctor every four years. They have to have documentation of it in their logbook, so they have to have their doctor fill out and sign the form. The doctors need to go over the form and make sure they see the pilot as fit to fly.

     The reform in terms of the regulatory process is a bill. It recently has been passed through Senate in December of 2015. Since the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 has been passed through Senate, it now has to continue the process to the House. The House will have to look at it, make whatever changes they want if they have any, and then either approve or veto it. One issue that is going on right now is that because the FAA reauthorization bill is occurring right now too and has to be approved as soon as possible, the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 might not be looked at right away. “‘We know how important this is to our members,’ said Jim Coon, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs. ‘And getting third class medical reform to the president’s desk as quickly as possible is our top priority’” (Tennyson, Next Steps For Medical Reform, 2016). Although the FAA reauthorization bill may take priority in the House right now, the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 is still really important and they want to get the bill looked at really soon. If the House and President pass the bill, “the FAA has up to one year to implement any regulatory changes that comply with the new law” (Tennyson, Third Class Medical Reform FAQs, 2015 ).

     One aspect of the medical reform is how pilots will not have to see the aviation medical examiner and can now see their own personal doctor. This could be really beneficial because they wouldn’t be required to take an exam that is pass or fail. This could relieve a lot of pressure on pilots that go through these exams. Once they have their medical, they will just have to see their doctor and their doctor will go over the necessary form which checks everything that is required by the FAA. Because they are having the exam done by their own personal physician, they don’t have to give all their medical information to the FAA unless they request it. If the FAA requests the pilot’s information, it is usually due to an accident investigation or some type of enforcement action. This can be a positive and a negative thing. Some people may see this as a good thing because then the FAA doesn’t have all the medical details on people, but if the pilot doesn’t need to give the FAA their medical form, how would they know if the pilot is fit to fly. The physician might say they are not fit to fly, but as seen before, the pilot may not let an employer know of what is going on. Another positive thing is that because they do not need to be recertified or have to see the aviation medical examiner, the pilots will have to participate in free online classes to help them understand certain medical factors every two years. “The course will be designed to increase awareness and understanding of medical factors that can affect a pilot’s fitness to fly” (Tennyson, Full Senate Passes Medical Reform, 2015). Another positive aspect of this medical reform and pilots only needing to get their regular or special issuance medical is the time and money that is saved on this. “This legislation will help hundreds of thousands of general aviation pilots by saving them time, money, and frustration while giving them tools they need to take charge of their health and fitness to fly” (Tennyson, Full Senate Passes Medical Reform, 2015)That is a lot of money to spend on a certificate, so it can benefit the pilot community that fit under the given circumstances. One negative thing about going to see their own personal physician is that it is only required every four years. A lot can happen within four years and if the pilot only sees their doctor when it is required, then they may have been putting themselves or others at risk because they may have been considered unfit to fly.

     I think that that this medical reform has its pros and cons. I think that this could really help out some pilots because it allows them to fly at older ages and it saves them and the FAA a lot of time and money. I think that this can make a lot of people happier because they don’t have to constantly pay a lot of money to pass their medical, but instead they can just see their personal doctor. I also think it is a good idea to have pilots take classes to understand the factors that are associated with certain medical issues. This can help them know if they or maybe someone else may need to see a doctor even if it hasn’t been the four years where they are required to see their physician. One issue I see with this is that the pilot has to have a signed form from their doctor stating if they are fit or not to fly. First off, will these doctors be informed on what to look for or how to determine if the pilots are fit to fly or not according to FAA standards. Does this require more training from the FAA to help these doctors out? Another issue is that if a doctor says they believe they are not fit to fly, how will the FAA or their employer know if it just has to be documented in their logbook and the FAA is said to only look at these forms if they are requested in certain circumstances. I think that overall this can save a lot more time and money for the pilots and the FAA, but there has to be some kind of way to be sure that doctors know how to determine if pilots are fit or not to fly and that there is some way to be sure that pilots don’t fly when they are said to be unfit. Although this can be convenient for a lot of people, a lot can happen within four years that can make that individual unfit to fly. This can pose a hazard to pilots or others who may fly with pilots that only see their doctor when it is required. Something may be wrong, but they don’t know it. Overall, I think that this can benefit a lot of people, but there are some things that need to be worked out such as making sure pilots are still fit to fly and that doctors know how to properly determine if a pilot is fit or not to fly.

References

GA Advocates Urge Congress to Support Medical Reform . (2015, November 17). Retrieved from General Aviation News : http://generalaviationnews.com/2015/11/17/ga-advocates-urge-congress-to-support-medical-reform/

Tennyson, E. A. (2015 , December 9). Third Class Medical Reform FAQs. Retrieved from AOPA: http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/December/09/Third-class-medical-FAQs

Tennyson, E. A. (2015, December 15). Full Senate Passes Medical Reform. Retrieved from AOPA: http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/December/15/Full-Senate-passes-medical-reform

Tennyson, E. A. (2016, January 14). Next Steps For Medical Reform. Retrieved from AOPA: http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/January/14/Next-steps-for-medical-reform