SEC. 417. MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN SMALL AIRCRAFT PILOTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue or revise med- ical certificate regulations to ensure that an individual may operate as pilot in command of a covered aircraft without regard to any medical certificate or proof of health requirement otherwise applicable under Federal law if—
(1) the individual possesses a valid driver’s li- cense issued by a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States and complies with any medical requirement associated with that license;
(2) the individual is transporting not more than 5 passengers;
(3) the individual is operating under visual flight rules or instrument flight rules;
(4) the relevant flight, including each portion thereof, is not carried out—
(A) for compensation or hire, including that no passenger or property on the flight is being carried for compensation;
(B) at an altitude that is more than 14,000 feet above mean sea level;
(C) outside the United States, unless au-
thorized by the country in which the flight is conducted; or
(D) at an indicated air speed exceeding 250 knots; and
(5) the individual has completed a medical edu- cation course in accordance with subsection (b).
(b) MEDICAL EDUCATION COURSE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To meet the requirement of subsection (a)(5), an individual shall complete (and demonstrate proof of completion of) a medical edu- cation course during the 2-year period ending on the date on which the individual operates as pilot in command of a covered aircraft.
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The medical education course shall—
(A) be established and periodically updated by the Administrator in coordination with rep- resentatives of relevant not-for-profit general aviation stakeholder groups;
(B) be available on the Internet free of charge;
(C) educate pilots on conducting medical self-assessments;
(D) advise pilots on identifying warning
signs of potential serious medical conditions; (E) identify risk mitigation strategies for
medical conditions;
(F) increase awareness of the impacts of
potentially impairing over-the-counter and pre- scription drug medications;
(G) encourage regular medical exams and consultations with primary care physicians;
(H) inform pilots of the regulations per- taining to the prohibition on operations during medical deficiency; and
(I) include a signature page, that shall be transmitted to the Administrator, for the indi- vidual to certify that the individual has com- pleted all necessary educational medical coursework.
(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement of sub- section (a)(5) shall not apply to an individual who exercises sport pilot privileges or acts as the pilot in command of a glider or balloon.
(c) COVERED AIRCRAFT DEFINED.—In this section,
the term ‘‘covered aircraft’’ means an aircraft that—
(1) is not authorized under Federal law to carry
more than 6 occupants; and
1 (2) has a maximum certificated takeoff weight
2 of not more than 6,000 pounds.
3 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date
4 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit
5 to Congress a report that describes the effect of the regu-
6 lations issued or revised under subsection (a) and includes
7 statistics with respect to changes in small aircraft activity
8 and safety incidents.
9 (e) PROHIBITION ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—On
10 and after the date that is 180 days after the date of enact-
11 ment of this Act, the Administrator may not take an en-
12 forcement action for not holding a valid third-class med-
13 ical certificate against a pilot of a covered aircraft for a
14 flight if the pilot and the flight meet the requirements
15 under paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) unless
16 the Administrator has published final regulations in the
17 Federal Register under subsection (a).Statistics: Posted by Vaughn DeCoster — Fri Feb 05, 2016 8:08 am
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