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The National Business Aviation Association has
welcomed the issuance by the Federal Aviation Administration of a final rule
allowing private pilots, in certain instances, to use a driver’s license along
with medical exams, in lieu of an FAA-issued medical certificate.
The new rule is contained in a broader package
of updated requirements for third-class medical certification, which the agency
has dubbed 'BasicMed'.
“We commend the FAA for moving ahead in a
timely fashion on the development of a final rule for third-class medical
reforms,” said NBAA President and CEO
Ed Bolen. “The implementation of the
rule will allow the FAA to put scarce agency resources to higher-risk oversight
activities, while remaining focused on the safety of flight.”
Legislation directing the agency to develop
new third-class medical rules was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House
of Representatives in 2015, and was given final congressional approval the
following year.
Under the legislation, pilots who make
non-commercial flights under visual or instrument flight rules in aircraft
weighing up to 6,000 pounds with no more than six seats would be exempt from the
third-class medical certification requirement. Pilots would be limited to
carrying a maximum of five passengers, flying at altitudes below 18,000 feet
mean sea level (MSL), and at a speed no faster than 250 knots.
Additionally, under the new provisions, pilots
with a valid medical certificate at any point 10 years before July 15, 2016, may
not need to take another FAA medical exam; pilots who have never had an FAA
medical certificate will need to undertake the process a single time.
Thereafter, pilots will need to visit a state-licensed doctor at least once
every four years, and take a free online course every two years.
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