Third Class Medical Reform

Originally back in 2012 there was a petition by the AOPA and the EAA for a medical reform. This has been an on-going process, but they are finally getting somewhere with it. Towards the end of 2015, the third class medical reform was sent to the Senate. The Senate ended up passing the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 on December 15, 2015. Now all that they are waiting for is the House of Representatives to pass the bill so it can be sent to the President for the final approval. According to Elizabeth A. Tennyson, the FAA will have one year to “implement any regulatory changes that comply with the new law” if it is passed. With that being said, there are quite a few changes that are coming with this reform. As explained earlier, the medical reform is a part of the Pilots Bill of Rights 2. Once it is passed by the House of Representatives, the President will sign the bill and it will then become a law. Compared to the original petition, the new updated Pilots Bill of Rights 2 (PBR2) gives GA pilots less restrictions. For example, the original petition said pilots could take only one passenger up at a time, while the new PBR2 allows a pilot to take up to five passengers. Additionally, pilots will be allowed to fly day and night VFR and IFR instead of just day VFR only. 

There will be some changes made if this bill is passed. Some of these changes are quickly noted by Pia Bergqvist in his article about the Pilots Bill of Rights being passed by the Senate. He simply states that “the new bill does require at least one medical exam for new student pilots, special issuance medical holders and pilots who haven't had a medical in 10 years, but would remove the current requirement for recurrent checks for pilots flying with a third-class medical certificate” (Bergqvist, 2015).  He also sums up the bill by listing a few of the new limitations,  “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” (Bergqvist, 2015). One prospective policy that I personally do not agree with is making GA pilots take an online training course in aeromedical factors every two years. If they are going to allow pilots to fly with medical issues, a yearly training course should be implemented. One part of the Pilots Bill of Rights 2 that I do agree with is the fact that GA pilots will be allowed to fly both day and night IFR and VFR. Compared to the old petition where it was proposed that GA pilots would only be able to fly day VFR only.

I would have to say that I am completely in the middle when it comes to the third class medical reform. I see it mostly as a push from general aviation pilots who have lost their third class medical and want to continue flying. It does give the benefit of not having to pay a large fee to get a medical done by an AME, so I can see a lot of GA pilots being happy with that result. Also, the fact that pilots will be able to get their medical done through their own physicians will be more convenient to all the pilots. They won’t have to go out of their way anymore just to get a third class medical taken care of. Overall, I would be happy if it went either way, but that is only because I have a good medical standing. I could see myself being completely for this medical reform if I had a medical issue. 

References

Bergqvist, P. (2015, December 17). Flying. Senate Passes Third-Class Medical Reform. Retrieved from http://www.flyingmag.com/senate-passes-third-class-medical-reform 

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

Pilots and Depression

1.) Essentially what had happened with the GermanWing crash on March 24, 2015 was a result of suicidal thoughts and depression obtained by the co-pilot. On previous flights, the Telegraph News stated that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, had been practicing “controlled descents that lasted for minutes and for which there was no aeronautical justification”. Basically, Lubitz was trying to nonchalantly descend the plane into the ground without the cabin even noticing. On flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf on March 24, Co-pilot Lubitz locked the Captain out of the cockpit, and descended the plane into terrain killing all 150 members aboard the A320.  There was documentation of his depression and suicidal thoughts prior to becoming a pilot. On 09 April 2009, his first class medical was not revalidated due him taking medications for depression. Again, on 14 July 2009, his first class medical was denied but later approved on July 28 with a restriction to SIC time only and specific regular medical examinations. According to the BEA preliminary report, it was stated that during Lubitz’s training and recurrent checks, “ his professional level was judged to be above standard by his instructors and examiners”.  Somehow he was able to obtain his first class medical again, along with making his superiors think he was healthy in the head. Allowing this man to fly, especially with passengers, was a very poor decision by the Lufthansa Aeromedical Centre.   

2.) There are  various accounts of incidents and accidents where pilots have been taking antidepressants, which contributed to their unstable thought process while flying. There is one case that I found interesting, and that involves a single private

pilot named Douglas Lee Scholl.  Scholl was a 45 year old man who flew a Piper PA-28, and he had a history of depression along with an attempted suicide from the use of sleeping pills.  After attempting suicide on the night of 18 July 2003, he was released the morning of 20 July and went straight home.  “Despite having psychiatric hospitalizations beginning in 1991 and being on Prozac since 1993, he reported on his various FAA medical certificate applications that he was not taking any medications and had never had any type of mental disorder” (O’Rourke, 2003). It is sad to see that the FAA did not catch this, because Scholl flew his Piper Cherokee into the ground at Jackson Municipal Airport the morning of July 21, 2003.

3.) Currently the process for screening mental health amongst the pilots is through their first class medical examination. First class medicals have different durations depending on the age of the pilot. For those pilots under the age of 40, their first class medical lasts 12 calendar months. Pilots over the age of 40 have to renew their first class medical every 6 calendar months. I personally do not believe that this process is not sufficient enough, because the possibilities of an examinee leaving out information about their medical history are very high in order to keep their job. Typically, you have to state if you have had any medical problems when you get a first class medical done and what would possess a person to put something down that they know will cease their first class medical?  If they want to crack down on mental illness and depression in pilots, then they should implement a process where they have to pass a session with a psychologist.  A quick session with a psychologist could help with weeding out pilots who have suicidal thoughts or chronic depression.

4.) To reiterate on what was said previously, most pilots who work for the airlines will not want to confess to the FAA or the company they work for that they have a medical problem. If an airline pilot tells his employer that he has a medical issue, there is a chance he/she could lose his first class medical along with his job.  The FAA is so strict with this topic that most pilots are afraid to fess up about their medical issues. Think about it, their job could be terminated by something that could be treated over time. If a more liberal approach was implemented, I could see more pilots coming forth with their problems; as well as seeking medical treatment instead of hiding it from the companies and making their mental illness worse.

References:

BEA. (2015, May). Accident on 24 March 2015 at Prads-Haute-Bléone (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France) to the Airbus A320-211 registered D-AIPX operated by Germanwings. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2015/d-px150324.en/pdf/d-px150324.en.pdf

O’Rourke, C. (n.d.). Suicide by Airplane. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://ssristories.org/suicide-by-airplane-charles-orourke/

Sawer, P. (2015, May 06). The Telegraph. Andreas Lubitz: Everything We Know about Germanwings Plane Crash Co-pilot. Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11496066/Andreas-Lubitz-Everything-we-know-about-Germanwings-plane-crash-co-pilot.html

ATC Privatization

1.) Our current ATC system is based off of older technologies, which is a main cause to the complaints of our current system being as slow as it is. With a predicted increase in the amount of passengers flying with the airlines throughout the next few years, ATC must find a more efficient and quicker way to advance more flights. With the integration of the NextGen Air Traffic Control Modernization, more sophisticated flight procedures and newer technology will reduce the amount of flight delays by nearly 35 percent as well as decrease flight times and fuel/emissions.  According to GBTA, they are estimating that nearly $23 billion could be saved from delay reduction benefits alone.  The use of GPS and computer generated flights paths will allow the aircraft's to fly a straighter, more direct route top their destination. This alone will help reduce the emissions as well as total flight time.

2.) As a General Aviation pilot, it is easy to see why other GA pilots may be against the privatization of ATC. Most feel as if ATC will put GA flights on the side burner because all of the airline flights will have priority. Another issue that has been brought up is the fact that GA pilots must pay to use the privatized ATC.  It was even stated by Sean Elliot in the General Aviation news that “Any privatization effort must not result in a pay-to-play scheme for general aviation”.  Sean Elliot was also clear to mention that “Though we certainly understand the desire to find ways to make the air traffic system more efficient and cost-effective, the current fuel tax system of revenue generation works and is efficiently and fairly collected” our current fuel tax system still works, so why try and veer away from that. On the other side, the airlines are all for the privatization of ATC because it will help them save money on fuel and delayed flight expenditures, as well as help reduce emissions. Two main lobbyist groups are the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). Both of these lobby groups are pushing to prevent the privatization of ATC because it will drastically change general aviation. They don’t want to see private pilots having to pay to use ATC, and they don’t want to see GA pilots loss access to airspace because of airline priority.

 3.) Canada has its own privatized ATC system that started in 1996, called Nav Canada. It is a non-profit organization that is governed by a group of board members and it is completely separate from the Canadian government. Nav Canada was originally funded by ticket tax money provided by the Canadian Government (Mark,2012). After about three years, Sid Kozlow (Vice President of Nav Canada) states “Nav Canada was on its own trying to make the system work with fees based on aircraft type, weight and distance traveled” (Mark,2012). The reason why the privatized ATC runs more efficiently for the Canada is solely due to the difference in air traffic density. Compared to the United States, who average nearly 64 million flight operations per year, Canada has roughly 12 million take offs and landings per year.

4.) In order to convert our current system to a privatized ATC system, the congress would have to pass the bill allowing ATC privatization. This proposal would also have to be approved by an aviation committee. As of right now, the proposal is still up in the air to make ATC an independent corporation. In order for ATC to be privatized, users would have to pay out of pocket to use it and that is one of the main controversies for all of those opposed to privatized ATC.

5.) I think that if ATC was privatized, the airlines would definitely benefit from it. It would be more efficient for the airlines in the realm of decreasing flight times, reducing the amount of delayed flights, and help with cutting emissions down. The use of the NextGen technology would allow the airlines to fly direct routes to their destinations, but at the same time it would prioritize all of those flights over general aviation aircraft.  As far as safety concerns, I do believe that privatized ATC would be efficient in increasing safety among the airspace. There are still many issues regarding privatization that need to be worked out, especially the funding of it. In order for this proposal to pass, I think they need to dig deeper into how they will upgrade to NextGen without charging GA pilots to use it.

References

Green, P. S. (2015, September 28). America’s Air Traffic Control System is Finally Going Digital. Fox Business.

Mark, R. P. (2012, January 1). Canada’s Private ATC System Offers Alternative for Cost-cutting Nations. AIN Online.

NextGen – Air Traffic Control Modernization. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.gbta.org/usa/governmentrelations/Pages/NextGen–AirTrafficControlModernization.aspx

Wood, J. (2015, July 8). Call to action issued over ATC privatization. General Aviation News. 

Personal Introduction

I was roughly four years old when I started gaining interest for the world of aviation. This was solely due to the Concorde landing at the Battle Creek Kellogg airport. After seeing the Concorde, my eyes were set on flying and that is what I still want to do with my future. I am currently in my fourth year of college and I am working on majoring in Aviation Flight Technology. Currently, I am halfway through my instrument certification and plan on graduating in Fall 2016.

As far as future plans, I am unsure as to weather I will go into the regionals or try and fly with Corporate Eagle gaining SIC time. I am leaning more towards flying in the corporate side. Since I work at Avflight, a local FBO, I am able to see a lot that the corporate side of aviation has to offer. With that being said, I would love to fly Gulfstream’s, Hawkers, or even Falcons.

As stated previously, working with Avflight I get to see a lot of the medical flights that come in to Willow Run. So for Career Development, I am interested to find out a bit more about these positions and how they are acquired. I did see on the syllabus that they will be a guest speaker on March 30^th. The aviation topics that I would like to talk about in this class would be the future developments of flight crews with the advancements in technology. Also, I would like to learn more about the new space flights that have been going on.