But The Bureaucratic Road Could Be A Long One, Administrator Says

By Tom Patton

Hopes were high in some corners of AirVenture that FAA Administrator Michael Huerta would make a major announcement about eliminating the 3rd class medical certificate during his annual "Meet the Administrator" session Thursday.

They were disappointed.

Huerta said that making a major policy change through an exemption was the wrong way to approach the problem because it is an interim step, and the goal was a permanent change in the policy. "The objective it to get to yes," Huerta said ... more than once ... but cautioned that the bureaucratic process was likely to be a lengthy one.

Huerta said that the agency had received more than 16 thousand comments on the petition filed by EAA and AOPA for an exemption from the 3rd class medical requirement for recreational pilots. He said that an exemption would be only a temporary solution to the problem and the agency's goal is a "long-term and lasting policy change. A change that affects this many people is generally something that is not done using the exemption process," Huerta said. "The easy thing for us to do would be to say 'no', our objective is to try to get to 'yes'.

"The downside of the rulemaking process is that it takes time," the administrator said, "but that is how we get to what you want."

Huerta said the agency has begun the rulemaking process. Last week he signed a draft rule that is currently undergoing administration review, and the goal is to have the rule out for comment this fall. He said the length of the process will depend in part on the number of comments that are received, which then have to be reviewed by the agency, and responses must be crafted.

If the administrator offered some hint for change, it may have been in his statement that "everything in aviation changes and it grows. Nothing is static."

On another regulatory issue, the administrator said that the December 31, 2020 date for requiring ADS-B out in controlled airspace is "firm." But he also reiterated that not every aircraft will be required to be equipped for ADS-B ... as long as you don't intend to fly in controlled airspace. "If you're flying in airspace where no transponder is required today, then you don't need to equip."

He said that there have been some problems with installations and software that are are being reported to the FAA by users, and the agency has established a service that will verify an ADS-B installation free of charge for an aircraft owner.

The administrator also addressed an FAA advisory circular that allows for a second qualified pilot to fly with the builder of an Experimental/Amateur-Built airplane during the primary phase of test flight. "Many times the pilot who built the aircraft may not have had prior experience in flying that type of aircraft. It's exactly during the testing phase when it makes sense to have a pilot who is more familiar with the aircraft accompany you. This 'best practice' guidance is an example of the FAA and EAA really working together to make things better for the experimental aircraft community," he said.

The questions at the public session were limited to EAA members. Later, at a session for the media, Huerta was asked if, in the light of the delays on issues like the third class medical and Part 23 re-write, GA and recreational aviation were getting enough attention from the agency. "I think we are very focused on what we can do to try to find solutions," he said, and then went back to his theme of "how do we get to 'yes'."

Huerta said that it was frustrating for him having come out of the private sector to run into some of the bureaucratic delays that he experiences in the federal government, but that the processes of the government "are there for a good reason. We want to ensure that we have a public and open debate that needs to take place across all segments of the various stakeholders. Those voices are extremely important to be heard."

So, there were no major policy announcements from the administrator. While he attempted to portray the FAA as an agency that is responsive to the GA and experimental community, it is clear that agency is going to work at its own pace towards any changes in the rules that affect that segment of the industry. And the possible outcome of those changes are being played very close to the vest.

FMI: www.faa.gov