House General Aviation Caucus co-chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) on February 26 introduced companion bills in the House (H.R.1062) and Senate (S.571) to strengthen certificate holder protections and expand the third-class medical for recreational pilots. The legislation, called the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2, builds on Inhofe’s original Pilot’s Bill of Rights, which was signed into law into 2012.

“This new bill improves upon those protections and expands the rights afforded to pilots and other certificate holders,” Graves said, adding that he expects the bill to capture strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. The House bill was introduced with four co-sponsors, including Graves.

The original bill was one of the few stand-alone bills to sail through Congress during 2012. “The first Pilot’s Bill of Rights was a victory for the aviation community and made possible by the support of pilots and industry leaders across the nation,” Inhofe said. “Since [it was] signed into law, more issues facing the general aviation [GA[ community have surfaced. The Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 addresses these concerns.” Inhofe introduced the Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 with 12 other co-sponsors.

Along with the third-class medical exemption, the new legislation includes more than a dozen measures designed to provide protections during enforcement investigations and actions. The bill also would seek improvements to the Notice to Airmen system.

These include an expansion of protections in the Pilot’s Bill of Rights to include all certificate holders, a requirement for the FAA to disclose the specific incident(s) used to begin enforcement proceedings, a prohibition on the FAA's moving forward with enforcement if the agency doesn’t provide a timely notification that it has begun an investigation, and a requirement that the FAA furnish a copy of the releasable portion of an enforcement investigative report when serving an emergency order or enforcement action.

The bills would reform the record-keeping system and prevent pending enforcement action being made public. Other provisions are tailored to provide protections when the FAA seeks re-examination and improved accessibility to flight recorder data. The bills would also extend civil liability protection and Good Samaritan Law protections to volunteer pilots.

Industry Support

The bills immediately drew strong support from the general aviation community. Eight association leaders signed letters endorsing the bills. “The original Pilot’s Bill of Rights provided important protections to pilots, and the new bill stands to expand on them,” the letters stated. The associations praised the action to expand the third-class medical exemption and efforts to improve the Notam system and the protections for volunteer pilots, among other measures.

“In this time of rapid communications technology, it is unacceptable that the Notam system remains broken—this bill will help to fix it,” added General Aviation Manufacturers Association president and CEO Pete Bunce, who was among the leaders signing the letter. He also called the liability protections extremely important for volunteer pilots who have been providing transportation for cancer patients, wounded veterans and other citizens.

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen pointed to the importance of requiring the FAA to hand over the enforcement report in emergency orders. The original Pilot’s Bill of Rights called for the timely release of such documents, but NBAA notes that it has received reports that the agency has not consistently furnished the information in a timely fashion. “This key provision ensures that pilots and other certificate holders facing FAA enforcement action are granted their due process under law,” he said.

National Air Transportation Association president and CEO Tom Hendricks, meanwhile, praised the expansion of the protections to other certificate holders, including aviation businesses, while Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association president and CEO Mark Baker commended the third-class medical measure.

Signing the letters in support were leaders from the Experimental Aircraft Association, Flying Physicians Association, Helicopter Association International and National Agricultural Aviation Association, in addition to GAMA, NBAA, NATA and AOPA.