WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Jim Inhofe, an 81-year-old avid pilot who had quadruple heart bypass surgery two years ago, is trying to loosen medical exam requirements so that private pilots like him don’t have to make so many doctors’ visits to show they are fit to fly.
The bill by Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., would double the time allowed between exams for pilots over age 40 from two to four years, so long as they also hold a valid driver’s license. Instead of a government-certified medical examiner, pilots could see any doctor they like. There would be no standards for what the medical exam would entail, and the doctor wouldn’t have to certify to the Federal Aviation Administration that the pilot was healthy enough to fly.
Instead, pilots would have to keep proof of their last doctor visit on hand should an FAA inspector ask to see the logbook where pilots keep track of their flight hours.
The bill would narrow the number of medical conditions for which a doctor’s special waiver is required, and eliminate the normal waiting period after heart procedures like Inhofe’s bypass before a pilot can fly again.
The bill does introduce a requirement for pilots to take an annual online course to familiarize themselves with aeromedical information.