Third Class Reform

Third class medical reform has been on the agenda for quite a while. There has been numerous attempts to reform the issue, however now one attempt is finally gaining traction, sort of. On this attempt according to Elizabeth Tennyson of AOPA says, “Anyone who flies with a third class medical certificate can benefit from this reform. In fact, almost anyone who has held a regular or special issuance third class medical certificate within the past 10 years from the date the legislation is enacted will never again need to visit an aviation medical examiner. If you’ve never held a third class medical certificate, you will need to get an FAA medical certificate from an ame one time only (Tennyson, 2015).” From my understanding they are essentially trying to make it easier for private pilots to have their medical done, and then let it not expire. Other things in the article that Tennyson listed was, that you have to visit your personal physician at least 1 time every four years, and discuss certain things that would be provided by the FAA.  A pilot would also have to take online training every two years in order to keep their certificate (Tennyson, 2015). This seems like a very good deal, seeming pilots who hold third class medicals are not for the airline pilots, these are usually for the pilots who like to fly for fun.

The current attempt of reform is in the process of becoming a bill. It was first introduced by Senator from Oklahoma James Inhofe on February 25, 2015. The bill became known as S.571: Pilot’s bill of rights 2.  On December 9, 2015 the bill was reported out by a special committee, and it should be looked at further by both chambers of congress. On December 15, 2015 the bill was passed by the Senate and is now on to the House of Representatives, before finally reaching the President to be signed into law (Pilots Bill of Rights). Therefore for the first time the reform for third class medicals is the closest it has been to be approved. The bill is now just waiting to be voted in the House, and should be up to vote soon. Getting the bill to this point shows that the bill does have great support by the members of congress, because I can just imagine how many bills they turn down every day, if they even make it them to vote.

When it comes to third class medical reform there are lots of different opinions out there, but the consensus looks to be for supporting the measure.  Something I do question against is not having to be ever be tested by an ame again. I think that is very interesting part of the bill, I think that any pilot should really be tested by a professional in the field or who understands what it means to have the medical license. When you are visiting just a family doctor how clued in are they, about what the health state of a pilot should be. However on the other side a point to make for the reform is that you still have to visit doctor once every four years, which most people do anyways. So if they come up with form that is detailed enough that a normal family doctor can understand and diagnosis properly I think that it would be a good point. Therefore so really these pilots are still visiting a medical professional just not as often as it is now. So if something was truly wrong with the pilots it wouldn’t go unnoticed and that’s what is the most important.

I am overall unbiased with aspect with of third class medicals. However I think that the medical form is mostly necessary because it seems like it would make life so much easier for the small fraction of pilots that hold type of medical license. Generally the private pilots that hold these licensees are not doing crazy flying, and are most doing it for their own pleasure. The medical reform would make it easier on these pilots to have not visit an ame every again, after the initial visit. Therefore I do not really see any harm in allowing these pilots to stop following the current practices. Overall the new reform would simply require less visits to the doctor and allow these pilots to operate aircraft as long as the aircraft falls between the qualifications.

References

Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 (S. 571). (2015). Retrieved from, https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s571

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

Pilots and Depression

March 24, 2015 started like a normal day for most people, however soon lots of people’s life would be changed forever. On this day Germanwings flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps. The flight had 150 people aboard which all lost lives that day (Brown, 2015). The flight took off like normal from Barcelona, Spain at 10:01am on its way to Dusseldorf, Germany with a scheduled arrival time of 11:39am.  The aircraft made it to a cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, and then began to drop suddenly after that. At 10:53am the aircraft had crashed in the French Alps. According to a CNN article that French lost radar contact with the aircraft when it reached 6,000 feet (Levs, 2015). The co-pilot was Andreas Lubitz, and according to the CNN article by Levs, “One of the pilots on board Germanwings Flight 9525 was locked out of the cockpit when the plane crashed, a senior military official told The New York Times Wednesday, citing evidence from the cockpit voice recorder (Levs, 2015).” It was discovered that Lubitz had completed research on suicide methods and information on cockpit doors and there security (Brown, 2015). It was then discovered after the crash that Lubitz had suffered severe medical conditions including depression and was actually labeled unfit to fly, according to one CNN article (Brown, 2015).  After completing research of the crash it seems as the captain was locked out of the cockpit and while trying to get back in the co-pilot crashed the aircraft.

            The Germanwings incident was not the first accident that may have been doomed by the Pilot. EgyptAir flight 990 which crashed off the United States coast line in 1999, was other crash that was done deliberately by the co-pilot. In this crash 217 people lost lives, because of his act (Campbell, 2002). According to the guardian article, Gamil el-Batouty had just got in trouble prior to flying this flight and was told that this would be his last flight across the Atlantic Ocean due to his sexual actions. There had been a lot if discussion of what really caused the aircraft to crash and whether something was wrong or if it was done by the co-pilot. It was eventually determined that the co-pilot did indeed cause the crash, some say it was an act of revenge due to the fact the man who just gave him the punishment was onboard flying, but in any rate he was mentally unstable. The pilot obviously did not like being in trouble and for some reason thought that downing the aircraft was the answer (Campbell, 2002). I have no clue what this man could have been thinking in his head to do this, but some pilots could really break with a snap of a finger, which is a risk you must take.

When someone wants to become a commercial airline pilot or any type of pilot there are many things that person has to have done, not just the flying hours to prove you can have the job. One of the most important aspects is the medical certification process. In a yahoo article by Jenna Birch she brings up some of important aspects of what pilots must go through. In order to fly for a commercial airline, pilots must have a first class medical certificate (Birch, 2015). The physical exam cannot just be completed your family doctor, you must go to special aviation medical examiner to complete the exam. Pilots have to renew the certificate every year if the pilot is under 40 years old. Pilots must also fill out an FAA medical application, according to the article by Birch, she interviewed Laura J. Brown, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs at the FAA. Laura Brown then explained the process slightly, “the FAA medical application form includes questions pertaining to the mental health of the pilot, the AME can defer a pilot to the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine if he or she believes that additional psychological testing is indicated. All existing physical and psychological conditions and medications must be disclosed (Birch, 2015).” After reading her article it was very interesting because it doesn’t seem like this is enough. It is kind up to the pilot if they want to share that they might have problem. I understand that the pilot could be fined if it is found they had a problem and did not disclose it. However what happens if they don’t get caught. Like this copilot in the Germanwings it was not readily know that he had issue and if wouldn’t done this horrible things would he still be flying with depression and the airline not know. I think that it should be a requirement for specific testing towards some of these mental disorders. Also to have more random testing done, and possibly have other coworkers write up reports about each other and there mental states during random flights.

            When it comes to airlines having to deal with the possibility of mental disorders, I think all they can do is counteract the measure. Most airlines cannot really look into pilot issues like this, I would think due to confidential issues and that this issue should really be discussed with the medical examiner. I have heard that most airlines now require there to always be two crew members in the cockpit at all times. If one of the pilots must use the restroom for example, one of the flight attendants must go in the cockpit and wait for their return. I think that was a major step in counteracting an accident like what happened in the French Alps. This way a pilot is not by their self to even think about committing a horrible accident like that.

Works Cited

Birch, J. (2015, March 27). Germanwings Crash: How Are Pilots' Mental And Physical Health Evaluated? Retrieved January 22, 2016, from https://www.yahoo.com/health/germanwings-crash-how-are-pilots-mental-and-114767266237.html

Brown, P., Smith-Spark, L., & Pleitgen, F. (2015, April 25). Germanwings: Lubitz researched suicide, black box found - CNN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/

Campbell, D. (2002, March 15). Revenge drove pilot to crash plane. Retrieved January 18, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/16/duncancampbell

Levs, J., & Shoichet, C. E. (2015, March 25). Germanwings crash report: Pilot locked out of cockpit - CNN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/europe/germanwings-crash-main/index.html

ATC Privatization

The ATC system is one of the most fundamental systems that the aviation community relies on. The current system is set up for aircraft to fly to their destination via waypoints that lead the aircraft on its way. However the way of flying in this system may not be the most direct way. A pilot may have to fly around a city or fly more north than was planned which in the end can lead to delays. The new NextGen system is hoping to change the way pilots fly. This satellite based system helps aircraft fly on more direct paths to their destinations. According to the FAA website for the NextGen product there can be 8-12 more departures an hour due to the aircraft taking these new paths. This new system can also help aircraft avoid weather delays, including rain, snow, and low visibilities by allowing the pilots to know more information ahead of time while en-route and can quickly change their route ("NextGen"). An example of how the NextGen system would work is normal flights from the west coast to Florida fly to the panhandle, than make the right turn and fly down the state, with this new system the aircraft would be able to directly cross the gulf of Mexico more safety than possible now ("Creates New Paths Over Gulf of Mexico"). Overall I see that the NextGen system will provide a much safer and quicker way to fly.

Privatizing the atc system is becoming a hot topic more and more in the aviation industry. There are many different opinions that people can provide and organizations that both support and oppose this new idea. Reading an article on Bloomberg by Justin Bachman, Delta Airlines has long opposed privatizing the system but the other major  airlines support the change. Delta mainly disapproves because of the resources that have been put into the new NextGen system (Bachman).   One organization that does not support the privatization is the NBAA. This new system would be supported by user fees and they want to make sure that its members know that it would hurt the system in the long run ("2015 NEWS"). The airlines for America group tends to lean toward privatizing the system in order to help advance the system along and get the FAA out of the way and model after the Nav Canada model(Bachman).

There are other nations that have privatized their air traffic control systems. Whether or not this is the way for the United States to go there is a bunch of opinions on both sides of the table. Some of the countries that I found that have privatized their systems include; Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. According to Susan Carey of the Wall Street Journal the countries “have made the transition in the past two decades, giving them access to capital markets and the ability to sell bonds based on the user fees they charge airspace users (Carey).” Privatizing the atc system could be both a good thing and bad which could also lead to new costs that the airlines and general aviation did not expect. Something interesting Carey spoke about in her article is that the United States is trying to compare its atc system to the one in Canada. “Some critics in the U.S. say Nav Canada isn't applicable because the U.S. has much busier, more complex airspace (Carey).” Which is very true what she brought up there is a huge difference in the amount of flights in the system at the same time its not comparing apples to apples.

In order for the atc system to be privatized the current system in place by the FAA would have to be shut down. According to Bachman, “House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) to back legislation that would kick the FAA out of air traffic control (Bachman).” Therefore in order to begin this process some legislation would need to be passed in congress for this change to happen, and this is not something that is not going to change overnight, this would have to be a big overall.

I personally don’t think that the atc system needs to be privatized.  I think that it would cost more money to make the transition, in which the FAA has already set up a system that is working. Some may say that the current system is failing or costly but with the prospects of the new NextGen system I think there is plenty to look forward too.

Works Cited

2015 NEWS. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.nbaa.org/news/2015/20151002-nbaa-shares-concerns-about-air-traffic-control-privatization-user-fees-with-south-florida-group.php

Bachman, J. (2015, September 10). Should the U.S. Privatize Air Traffic Control? Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-11/should-the-u-s-privatize-air-traffic-control-

Carey, S. (2014, August 24). Sparks Fly on Privatizing Air-Traffic Control. Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/sparks-fly-on-privatizing-air-traffic-control-1408921476

Creates New Paths Over Gulf of Mexico. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/stories/?slide=31

NextGen. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/experience/

Introduction

Hello!

My name is Shane Papke and I am currently a Senior in the Aviation Management program at Eastern Michigan University. I am planning on graduating at the end of this year in December 2016. I actually began in the flight program, and than changed things after my first year was up and went to the management program. I have always had a great interest for aviation and loving flying everywhere while growing up. I currently work at Detroit Metro airport for Southwest Airlines as a customer service agent, it has been the best opportunity in my life so far!!!
My future plan is to begin advancing within Southwest and joining their management in training program once I have my degree, in hopes to become a station manager, and continue to become a regional manager with them.
As for this class being a senior seminar I hope to come out with lots of valuable information and tips that people have experienced before me and to listen to guest speakers who have really advanced themselves through the ranks of companies. Two areas of current aviation topics that are interesting to me are these new airplane designs that are coming out, and the state of aviation security.